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Scribbles on files expose Gurugram bribery scam
The racket was busted after a raid by Haryana chief minister’s flying squad and the Gurugram Police on September 13. In all, the officers and touts swindled ₹5 crore from applicants
In a cavernous room on the fifth floor of the glass-façade Gurugram police commissionerate on September 15, two investigators pored over a mountain of papers, seized from the Gurugram Regional Transport Authority (RTA). Stacked on the table in front of them, the pile contained troves of mundane registration data on commercial vehicles that form the lifeline of the city’s 1.5 million people. Yet, the covers of eight files caught their eye. On these were scribbled seemingly innocuous phrases — “8”, “AM” and “PM” — sometimes in bold, sometimes circled.
Puzzled, the officers dug into these files, from which emerged an intricate pattern holding the key to an elaborate three-year-long nexus between touts and officers of RTA who allegedly took bribes for clearing files related to the registration and permits of new commercial vehicles and fitness checks of trucks and vans. These files were brought in and submitted by touts who marked them with codes to indicate the quantum of the bribe sought.
“If ‘8’ was written on a file, it meant that the tout would collect ₹6,000 from the applicant. Likewise, ‘AM’ scribbled on the file cover meant ₹2,000, and ‘PM’ translated to ₹4,000 — all to be collected by the tout from an applicant,” said a Gurugram Police officer, requesting anonymity.
The racket was busted after a raid by Haryana chief minister’s flying squad and the Gurugram Police on September 13. In all, the officers and touts swindled ₹5 crore from applicants, said the police.
“Hundreds of files a day, marked with code words, would reach the RTA official. After clearing the files every day, the official would tally how many ‘8’, ‘AM’ and ‘PM’ files made it to him. That told him how much money he made that day. The calculation was done at the end of each day and month. The touts were given a salary and incentives,” said a second Gurugram Police officer, who also wished not to be named.
At the time of the raid on September 13, RTA had 12 officials, including eight inspectors and four sub-inspectors. But investigators now say 60 touts virtually ran the office in connivance with at least five transport department officials. At least 400 files have been seized, and police are looking for a database of bribes and commissions that touts maintained. “The Gurugram flying squad was working on a case related to a fake driving licence, and had arrested a tout. That tout revealed this racket,” said Inderjit Yadav, deputy superintendent of police (CID).
Nexus emerges After receiving a tip-off about a fake driving licence issued by RTA on September 13, Gurugram Police arrested three touts along with 21 files pertaining to commercial vehicle permits and registration. Five days later, five more touts were arrested. On September 13, a first information report (FIR) under sections 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 166 (public servant disobeying law with intent to cause injury to another person) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and sections 7, 8, 12 and 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act was filed at the Shivaji Nagar police station.
Officers aware of the investigation said the touts named two officers and a contractual employee as being allegedly involved in the crime — transport inspector Kishori Kumar, who handled files of new registration of commercial vehicles, computer operator Poonam Kumari, who worked under him, and sub-inspector Neeraj Sehrawat, who processed the commercial vehicle permit. Their names were added in the FIR after the arrest of the touts.
None of the accused officials could be reached for their response on the allegations.
“Some of the transport department officials cannot be traced. We have collected their addresses and phone numbers from the RTA office and are looking for them. It was a well-oiled racket,” said Vijay Partap Singh, deputy commissioner of police (crime).
In Gurugram, registering a private vehicle is relatively straightforward — only identity and address proofs of the owner are needed. For a commercial vehicle, the process is far more onerous. Nine documents — sale certificate, attested copy of vehicle insurance document, GST number of the company, road tax, valid fitness certificate, PAN card and at least three separate forms of the transport department — are needed, in addition to an interstate permit.
This is where the touts came in. “Many of them represented private companies, manufacturing units, and firms. A small-time transporter or owner would get the touts to do their work. They were promised that documentation will be done without delay at an additional cost,” an investigator said, requesting anonymity.
The touts themselves came from diverse backgrounds — a vegetable shop owner, a newspaper distributor and a transporter were among them.
“They were basically small-time agents of these transporters and dealers in the past. But with time, they got to know how RTA functions and started conniving with RTA officials,” the investigator cited above said.
Suspensions and confusionThe unearthing of the racket has thrown the Gurugram RTA into disarray.On September 13, Kishori Kumar and Neeraj Sehrawat went on leave. A senior official of the transport department said that only the concerned officials knew how much work was pending, which files needed to be cleared and where they were kept. “In their absence, all the work got stuck and pressure mounted on the Gurugram RTA,” said the official, requesting anonymity.
A day later, inspector Rajender Singh went on leave. Five days later, inspectors Rakesh Kumar and Harbans Singh followed suit. The strength of the office fell to seven — three inspectors and four sub-inspectors.
Things came to a head on October 3, when two inspectors were called to court on different cases, a sub-inspector fell sick and the RTA secretary Jitendra Gahlawat was called to Chandigarh for official work. “People started screaming at the staff over the inordinate delay. No one could give a clear picture of when the documents will be cleared,” said a third Gurugram Police officer, asking not to be named.
Later that day, Gahlawat and Harayana transport commissioner Yashendra Singh issued orders for the suspension of nine officials — the four not in office on October 3, and the other five who were on leave. “They had gone on leave as they themselves feared arrest as well as interrogation by the police,” said a second transport department official.
But staffing the office isn’t easy. “No new officials are ready to be posted at Gurugram RTA. They fear that they would be repeatedly summoned by investigators. It’s going to take at least a month to streamline daily work,” said the transport department official cited above.
Nishant Kumar Yadav, Gurugram deputy commissioner, said that efforts were on to post new officials as soon as possible in their place. “We are trying to streamline the daily work at RTA so that the common people don’t suffer,” he said.
For now, thesix-storeyedoffice wears a deserted look. Junior employees ask applicants to come back after at least a week, hoping that new would get posted by them. But ordinary people aren’t holding out much hope.
Jagpreet Singh, a transporter, said that he visited the office at least thrice in the last one month to get documents of his old truck. “I have been told that the file has been processed but I just can’t find any official who can hand it over to me,” he said.
