Indian Express: Bengaluru: Thursday,
September 08, 2016.
The state
government is sitting on six proposals from the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB)
seeking sanction to register FIRs against tainted bureaucrats/officials after
prima facie case was found against them.
Replying to a
query at a press conference here on Wednesday, ADGP-ACB K V Gagandeep said the
six proposals sent to the state government have been pending since a month.
However,
sources said at least three similar requests have been pending since last four
months.
To a question
on the preliminary investigation into three cases registered with regard to
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s controversial Hublot watch, Gagandeep said, “We
are still investigating this case and have sought details from the Customs Department
and Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is also probing the matter.”
According to
sources, not only is the state government sitting on proposals seeking sanction
for filing FIR, it has also not approved the guidelines sent by the ACB on
various aspects of investigation including the deadline for completion of
preliminary investigation into complaints filed by the public.
Therefore,
there is no clarity on completion of preliminary investigation and hence the
CM’s watch row is still at the preliminary stage of investigation even three
months after a complaint was filed.
According to
M A Saleem, IGP-ACB, three complaints were filed in connection with the Hublot
watch case. They include one filed by advocate Nataraj Sharma and another
petition transferred to the ACB by the Lokayukta police. “We are collecting
details from different departments,” Saleem said.
When asked
about the land scam allegedly involving Chief Secretary Arvind Jadhav,
Gagandeep said the case is under preliminary investigation and they are still
collecting documents.
‘Exempt
ACB from RTI Act’
The ACB has
sent a proposal to the state government to exclude it from the purview of the
Right to Information Act. “Yes, we have sent a proposal, but it is still
pending before the government,” Gagandeep said. “We have asked the government
treat the ACB like CBI and CID which are excluded from the RTI Act,” he added.
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