‘Zero Tolerance’ Under Fire as Bribe-Accused Inspectors of AR Gurugram office Return to Same Post
Gustakhi Maaf Haryana – Pawan Kumar Bansal
The claims of “zero tolerance for corruption” made by former and current Chief Ministers, Manohar Lal Khattar and Nayab Singh Saini, appear hollow in light of a recent development.
Three inspectors from the office of the Assistant Registrar, Cooperative Societies, Gurugram, who were suspended after a sting operation revealed that they had demanded ₹7.5 lakh for transferring share certificates of a group housing society, have not only been reinstated but also reassigned to the same office.
This case, exposed by our team, contains all the elements of a serious scandal—greed for money, harassment of ordinary citizens, and the alleged political protection of the accused.
Sequence of Events
Members of the Karmyogi Cooperative Group Housing Society, Gurugram, were allegedly harassed by inspectors from the Assistant Registrar’s office. A sum of ₹7.5 lakh was demanded for transferring the shares of 30 members. When the members requested a concession, their plea was rejected.
Subsequently, a sting operation captured the officials on camera. After the story was aired, they were suspended by the then Registrar of Cooperative Societies, Rajesh Jogpal, on the directions of then Chief Secretary T V S N Prasad.
The Gurugram unit of the Anti-Corruption Bureau registered a case, and voice samples of the accused were collected. The report is still awaited. The issue was also raised in the Haryana Assembly by former Speaker Raghubir Singh Kadian, and the government then publicly stated that the officials had been suspended.
However, in a shocking turn of events, two of the three officials have been reinstated. Adding to the distress, whistleblower Vikas Chopra alleges that they have been posted back to the same office and are now threatening him.
Whistleblower Vikas Chopra has since met the Registrar of Cooperative Societies Subhita Dhaka and submitted all relevant documents, including a copy of the FIR registered with the Anti-Corruption Bureau, Gurugram. He has requested that, until the case is decided, the accused officials be transferred out of Gurugram to prevent further harassment.Role of ACB Gurugram is also under cloud as why slow speed of investigation,Tailpiece .Haryana government should honour whistle blower.
