Fraud by BSNL employees in Aligarh unearthed

By Nabeel A. Khan

Aligarh, April 4 (IANS) Many of the taxis hired by the state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) office in the past decade for official reasons have turned out to be scooters and tractors, pointing to a massive fraud, a Right to Information Act activist has discovered.



Bimal Khemani, an RTI activist, claims to have uncovered a multi-crore rupee fraud in hiring taxis for official transport by BSNL authorities in Aligarh between 1997 and 2008. "It is a very curious case of embezzlement of funds by the BSNL authorities," Khemani told IANS.

He claimed that BSNL officials fudged records to embezzle funds. "They used fake and fictitious registration numbers for taxis to embezzle crores of rupees of public money," he said.

"First, I filed an RTI application in the BSNL seeking details of the taxis hired by them for official purpose. Then, I filed another RTI plea with the Regional Transport Office (RTO), Aligarh, and discovered that a majority of the registration numbers provided by the BSNL (for taxis) were actually of scooters," he said.

Khemani filed the first RTI plea in January 2010 seeking details of the taxis hired by the BSNL authorities in Aligarh. He received the reply in February 2010 in which he got the registration numbers of the vehicles.

He filed his second RTI application with the RTO. In March 2010, he received the reply which showed that some of the registration numbers of taxis provided by the BSNL were listed as scooters, motorcycles, jeeps and tractors with the transport office.

IANS also got access to the documents that pointed to the anomaly.

A.K. Gupta, general manager, BSNL, Aligarh, denied having any knowledge of the matter. "As of now, I cannot speak anything on this, it will take time to find out," Gupta told IANS.

As part of his RTI initiative Khemani also obtained one of the agreements signed by the BSNL with a travel company owner, Shiv Kumar Sharma, in 2001. "I tried to trace this person but could not," the activist said.


(Nabeel A।Khan can be contacted at nabeel।k@ians.in)

http://headlinesindia.mapsofindia.com/state-news/uttar-pradesh/fraud-by-bsnl-employees-in-aligarh-unearthed-44255.html


http://www.newkerala.com/news/fullnews-83184.हटमल


http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/uttarpradesh/Fraud-by-BSNL-employees-in-Aligarh-unearthed/Article1-526928.aspx

http://www.zeenews.com/news616439.html

Nabeel A. Khan on RTI-2

Nabeel A. Khan on RTI

Information commissioners' appointments not transparent: RTI activists

By Nabeel A. Khan

New Delhi, Dec 11 (IANS) Two weeks after they served a legal notice on the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and the union government for "not being transparent" in the selection of information commissioners, RTI activists say they are yet to receive a reply.

"As we indicated in our legal notice, we have made preparations to go to court to enforce mandatory disclosures under Section 4 of the Right to Information (RTI) Act," Mumbai-based Krishnaraj Rao, who represents a group of RTI campaigners and petitioners from all over India, told IANS on phone.

The legal notice was served Nov 26, demanding that guidelines be followed under the RTI Act 2005, which makes it mandatory for the government to announce the eligibility criteria and procedures for appointments of central information commissioners (CIC) and chief CIC.

The activists allege the norm is not being followed. The prime minister is part of the committee for selection of information commissioners.

"We served a legal notice on the PMO as we think they have not maintained transparency in appointing the CICs and chief CIC as according to Section 4 (1) B of the RTI Act the criteria of appointment should have been published publicly which was not done," Rao said.

"Decisions of this magnitude cannot be carried out under a veil of secrecy by the government."

"Such opaque and unaccountable decisions are unconstitutional and unfair to the citizens of India. As earlier selections of CICs have shown, the absence of openly declared rules and guidelines for such appointments is allowing blatant nepotism to flourish.

"Our group shall take every possible step to prevent such corrupt practices from continuing."

Section 4(1) B of the RTI Act says: "Every Public Authority shall publish within 120 days from the enactment of this Act the procedure followed in the decision making process, including channels of supervision and accountability; the norms set by it for the discharge of its functions; the rules, regulations, instructions, manuals and records held by it or under its control or used by its employees for discharging its functions."

The legal notice has also been addressed to the law ministry and the department of personnel and training.

"We have also asked for the disclosures expeditiously and not to appoint the CIC or the chief CIC till the disclosures are made public, failing which we will be constrained to take legal redress through court," Rao said.

Supreme Court lawyer Abdul Rasheed Qureshi, who sent the notice on behalf of Rao, says: "We have not yet received any response from the officials. We are hoping to file a petition in the Delhi High Court regarding this," Qureshi said.

The legal notice to the PMO says: "As your office in particular and the government of India in general have not met this legal obligation, it is by this legal notice that I call upon you to make the mandatory disclosures before proceeding with further appointments so that further illegalities are not committed."

The RTI activists have also sent a letter to opposition leader Arun Jaitley asking he demand that the PMO and the union government make the mandatory disclosure before proceeding with further appointments to the Central Information Commission.

In an earlier public interest litigation (PIL) filed Nov 18 in the Delhi High Court, the activists stated that the government was biased in selecting CIC heads.

"A close look at the career details and appointment dates of CIC commissioners reveals the truth: the post is yours if you are an IAS officer aged around 60 and have worked with the PMO, DoPT or Ministry of Information and Broadcasting," the PIL said.

"Officers from other cadres like the Indian Police Service (IPS) may also be considered. Civil society members, eminent or otherwise, are least preferred," the PIL stated.

The high court, however, rejected the PIL, ruling: "The court can't ask the government to frame rules to bring transparency. You can raise the issue before the government and before parliament."

But the judges encouraged the activists to keep the pressure on the government to usher in transparency, saying: "You (RTI activists) should mobilise the larger civil society to build opinion on the issue."

(Nabeel A. Khan can be contacted at nabeel.k@ians.in)


http://in.news.yahoo.com/43/20091211/812/tnl-information-commissioners-appointmen.html


http://headlinesindia.mapsofindia.com/government-policy-news/prime-ministers-office/information-commissioners-appointments-not-transparent-rti-activists-31037.html

http://www.newkerala.com/news/fullnews-8774.html

Varanasi makes noise about noise pollution

VARANASI: If you are in Varanasi, you are advised not to make too much noise.
Until a few weeks ago, no case relating to noise pollution had ever been registered in the city, but the racket has finally woken the authorities who have filed six cases in the past one week.

The sixth case was registered against Chotelal Gupta, the owner of a flour mill on Tuesday for causing noise pollution in a residential area after 10 p.m.
Confirming the incident, a police officer at the Cantonment Police station, said: "Yes we have registered a case on Tuesday against Chotelal Gupta for causing noise pollution. We received complaints from people in Lamhi locality against Chotelal Gupta who was running a flour mill in this residential area."

Superintendent of Police (Varanasi) Vijay Bhushan, told IANS: "We are quite strict about noise pollution which is causing so many problems for people and also creating a serious law and order problem." The awareness about noise pollution in Varansi has come after efforts by NGO Satya Foundation which has run a number of awareness programmes.

In many parts of Varanasi, including in police stations, posters have been put up about noise pollution. "In fact, the whole city is flooded with pamphlets, posters and banners urging people to not to use loudspeaker, live bands, loud music and firecrackers after 10 p.m. in the name of religion and tradition," Chetan Upadhyaya, secretary, Satya Foundation told

"I am quite happy with the public support and I am very surprised to receive calls and complaints from people even outside the state. We respond to each and every complaint and rely mainly on awareness rather than legal action. Only in cases of stubborn noise offenders, we take help from the state machinery". Upadhyaya said.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/varanasi/Varanasi-makes-a-noise-about-noise-pollution/articleshow/5292646.cms

Two arrested in Varanasi for noise pollution

By Nabeel A. Khan

Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh): In the first such case in this ancient city, two people have been arrested for causing noise pollution.

This comes four years after the Supreme Court imposed strict norms on noise levels. Police admit they have been indifferent to the problem so far.

Anil Kumar, the police officer at Chet Ganj police station who filed the case, said on Thursday: "We received a complaint on Tuesday from people in the Ram Katora area at around 11.30 pm through SMS and a phone call about DJs.

"So I went to the spot and asked them to stop DJing, but they did not stop, resulting in the arrest of two people and the seizure of the loudspeaker and other instruments."
Bharat Kumar and Ashish, who were DJs at a wedding party, were arrested and released on bail the next day, police said.

Under Supreme Court directives dated 2005, after 10 pm no instrument or device that causes noise pollution can be allowed. Even before 10 pm, music or any other instrument should be used in a manner that if two people are talking in a nearby area they should not be disturbed.
To a great extent, the case in Varanasi was a result of sustained campaigning against noise pollution.

"I had filed a request under Right to Information (RTI) rules Oct 20 and asked whether any case was ever registered in the city over violation of noise pollution, but I was surprised when I got the reply in the negative November 12," said Chetan Upadhyaya, secretary of the NGO Satya Foundation.

Police officials admit "it was after a continuous campaign by Satya Foundation that we came to notice the provision of law and punishment for the noise pollution".

"On Nov 24, I had requested the director general of police (DGP) and the principal secretary, home, to inspect noise pollution in the state which is causing a law and order problem," Upadhyaya said.

"The DGP admitted that police were not so serious about the noise pollution problem and remained indifferent. He said the issue was alarming and needs to be taken up seriously," he said.

http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/enviornment/two-arrested-in-varanasi-for-noise-pollution_100280441.html


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/pollution/Two-arrested-in-Varanasi-for-noise-pollution/articleshow/5272527.cms


http://www.deccanchronicle.com/latest-news/2-held-noise-pollution-766



http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Pollution/Two-arrested-in-Varanasi-for-noise-pollution/articleshow/5272527.cms

When gold turned into chips at Delhi Metro station

By Nabeel A. Khan

New Delhi: A jeweller's bag said to be containing Rs.4 lakh worth of gold was put under security check at a Delhi Metro station. But what came out of the scanning machine was a bag containing two packets of chips and a mineral water bottle! The gold remained untraced Wednesday, a day after the shocking incident.

The incident took place when Sanjeev Nischal, a 38-year-old jeweller, entered the Karol Bagh Metro station with what he said was a black bag containing about 200 gram of gold at around 6.30 p.m. He bought a ticket for Tilak Nagar where he is based.

During the security check carried out by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Nischal kept his bag on the baggage scanning machine and moved to the receiving end. The station was crowded. He waited, but his bag did not come out.

He became anxious when the belongings of those who had come after him emerged at the other end of the scanning counter - but not his bag. However, after about a minute, the bag came out. "When I saw it I felt there was something fishy as my bag was a bit more shiny than the one that came out.

There also seemed to be some difference in size. "Anyway, I collected it and opened it in front of the security officials. I was shocked to see that the bag did not contain the gold but a water bottle and two packets of chips," Nischal told IANS.

Soon the CISF personnel raised an alarm and started frantically looking for the lost bag. But even after 10-15 minutes, they failed to unravel the mystery behind the disappearance of the original bag. The CISF has a slightly different account of the incident.

The CISF maintains that Nischal picked up the bag and went to the platform. He returned later claiming it was not his bag. Nischal was advised to go to the control room and look for CCTV footage to track his bag. Nischal first did a complete search of the station to see if any person was carrying a similar bag. "All the effort was in vain. Moreover, there was no claimer for the bag which I collected from the baggage scanning centre," said Nischal, who travels frequently on this Metro route. Before making any further moves, Nischal called the Police Control Room (PCR).

The police came at around 7.45 p.m. After the initial checks, he was advised to file a case at the Rajouri Garden Metro police station. In the meantime he called his brother and some relatives. They also tried to examine the CCTV footage. But no clue was found.

"At time of the incident, the station was heavily crowded as it was peak hour. There was nothing clear in the footage. We could not identify a single person with such a bag," Nischal added. In his complaint to the police, Nischal has alleged that he also suspected CISF personnel at the scanning centre. "We have registered a complaint and the matter is being investigated.

We have acquired the CCTV footage from the Delhi Metro and are questioning the CISF officials who were on duty Tuesday night," said a police officer investigating the case. Expressing shock over the incident, CISF spokesperson Rohit Katyal told IANS: "The CCTV footage shows that the complainant picked up a bag after it was scanned and went to the platform. He was found searching something inside the bag.

Later he came back and complained that the bag he was carrying didn't belong to him. "Prima facie it looks like somebody slipped away with his bag. CCTV camera footage has been acquired from the control room of the station and we feel whosoever picked up the bag may have done it unknowingly." The distance between the entry and exit points of the baggage scanning centre is "just around three feet," Katyal added.

http://www.samaylive.com/news/when-gold-turned-into-chips-at-delhi-metro-station/668064.html

http://www.aol.in/news-story/when-gold-turned-into-chips-at-delhi-metro-station/671758

http://www.indiaenews.com/business/20091118/232184.htm

Engineer commits suicide in Delhi

New Delhi, May 9 (IANS) A trainee engineer with a power distribution company of the capital commited suicide in her hostel room here Saturday evening, police said.


The body of Prerna Kumari, a graduate engineer trainee with North Delhi Power Limited (NDPL), was found hanging in her hostel room at the training centre in Rohini Sector 11, they said.

Sudhir Kumar, station house officer of the Prashant Vihar police station, said: "It was a suicide case, but we have not found any suicide note from the room. We are carrying out investigation and we have called her parents.

"At this stage it appears she committed suicide due to depression," he said.