The Hindu: New Delhi: Wednesday, December 20, 2017.
A Right to
Information (RTI) activist, who had alleged corruption in procurement of CCTV
cameras by the Delhi Police, was allegedly declared “mentally unstable” by the
police in their reply to the Prime Minister’s Office.
Activist
Harpal Singh Rana had filed a complaint with the PMO in April 2016 against the
alleged corruption, following which the PMO sought a report from the police.
The Delhi
Police replied to the PMO within a week and claimed that Mr. Rana had become
“mentally unstable” after the death of his son. However, Mr. Rana’s son Akhil,
a law graduate, is alive.
As per the
complaint filed by Mr. Rana, he had sought information from the police under
the RTI Act in 2016 on the cost of installation of CCTV cameras in some of the
major markets here from 2010-2015. The reply he received in March 2016 stated
that over Rs.148 crore had been spent on installing CCTV cameras in 2010.
The RTI reply
also claimed that many cameras cost Rs.6.86 lakh each and the police had “spent
Rs.227 crore on buying 3,309 cameras”.
Mr. Rana
claimed the cost of buying and installing the CCTV cameras exceeded the market
price.
‘Spotted
discrepancies’
“I spotted
discrepancies in the RTI reply and approached the public grievances cell of the
PMO and the Delhi government. Later, I asked the then Police Commissioner Alok
Verma to probe the discrepancies. However, the police asked me to withdraw my
complaint and stopped communicating with me,” Mr. Rana claimed.
On June 30,
2016, Mr. Rana received a note from the Delhi Police with a copy of their reply
to the PMO. The police had stated that Mr. Rana was “mentally unstable” due to
the sudden death of his son and had made false complaints.
Mistaken
identity
In response,
the activist uploaded the medical certificates of his son and himself on the
website of the public grievances cell of the PMO. Based on his complaint to the
PMO, the police started an inquiry. Initial probe has revealed that a policeman
sent to verify Mr. Rana’s home in April 2016 accidentally went to his
neighbour’s residence. The neighbour, Vijaypal Singh Rana, had lost his son in
an accident.
Reacting to
the allegations, Delhi Police spokesperson Madhur Verma said the process of
procurement of CCTV cameras is done through the Electronics Corporation of
India Limited (ECIL), a Public Sector Undertaking under the Central government.
Stating that
maintenance work of CCTV cameras is also done by the ECIL, as per an agreement,
he said the activist’s allegations against the police are being probed.
Mr. Verma
said the Joint Commissioner of Police (northern range) will probe the matter
and submit a report at the earliest.
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