Chief under duress to spare LMC officer

SUCH ARE the efforts on to save Shri Prakash Verma that municipal chief Ram Bodh Maurya is being influenced by a powerful lobby of higher LMC officials to give up the idea of suspending the section officer.

SUCH ARE the efforts on to save Shri Prakash Verma that municipal chief Ram Bodh Maurya is being influenced by a powerful lobby of higher LMC officials to give up the idea of suspending the section officer.

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Maurya is being asked to wait for the final report of another departmental vigilance inquiry that is going on against the section officer on similar charges.

The group of officials says if the reports were found contradictory, the matter could be referred back to the government for further consideration, but if the vigilance report also find him guilty, the municipal commissioner would be free to take action against the section officer.

Sources say the departmental vigilance inquiry would be in favour of the section officer providing him a new lease of life. No higher official knows who is conducting the vigilance inquiry but they claim the vigilance inquiry is on.

When asked about the inquiry, the municipal chief said, “I have asked for the details from additional municipal commissioner administration Santosh Kumar, but this will not help save the official who got 22 of his relatives appointed to various posts in the LMC.

On the pressure being applied on him on to save Verma, he said, “No one can shield the guilty. We don’t want to take any step in haste. I don’t want to take any step that is not according to the law.”