PATNA: The IAS officers Association (IASOA) Bihar chapter on Thursday demanded urged CM Nitish Kumar to order an independent and time-bound judicial inquiry by a sitting judge of the high court to probe into the functioning of the so called ‘entry mafia’ including its mentors and the beneficiaries.
In a six page memorandum submitted to Kumar on Thursday, the IASOA has expressed its deep pain and anguish by the manner in which the vigilance team has so far conducted the entire operation and arrested 2013 batch IAS officer Dr Jeetendra Gupta, posted as SDO Mohania in Kaimur district last week. “It also termed that the entire machinery of a wing of the government was misused for this gross travesty of the rule of law”.
Gupta was arrested by the vigilance bureau on July 12 and put under suspension on the charge of accepting bribe from drivers to release their overloaded trucks.
The association memorandum said: “Certain aspects of the present matter have caused deep anguish amongst the members, and have warranted apprehension about their being maliciously and selective targeted in performance of duties”.
The association also noted with concern that falsehood is being spread about the officer being caught red-handed, which seems to be totally incorrect. Though the vigilance bureau admitted that there was no recovery from the person of Dr Gupta, or from his official/residential rooms. “In the absence of any direct evidence, due caution should have been exercised before resorting to any precipitate action like arrest," the memorandum said.
Quoting records, the association said that Dr Gupta was arrested on July 12. However, the FIR was lodged only at 1830 hours on July 13 and subsequently, he was produced before the judge late in the night, well after the office hours. “The basic tenets of law, as laid by law and upheld by the Supreme court from time to time, have not been adhered to in the midnight arrest of a serving SDO," it said.
The association felt that it is a matter of great concern that ‘entry mafia’ has been operational in the state for quite some time now and it has been challenging the might of the state. Entry mafia, mining mafia and sand mafia etc, which still operate in full public knowledge, would not have been perpetuated for so long. “In disproportionate assets matters too, while it is definitely required to book the guilty, the complicity of those who allow the wealth amassing over a period of time is often overlooked," it said in the memorandum.
The memorandum, which was signed jointly by president of the association Amita Paul, and its secretary Vivek K Singh felt an urgent requirement of ensuring safeguards to all public servants against the wilful high-handedness and witch hunt.
The memo also said that the probe should include an inquiry into the treatment of senior officers involved, who were not named or arrested in cases of similar nature, instituted within the last five years, where their driver/bodyguard/reader etch have been caught red-handed or whose telephonic conversation had led to the institution of FIRs.