Tarigami demands CBI probe in Transport scam

Early Times reports made part of Assembly proceedings

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

JAMMU, Mar 14: CPI (M) State Secretary and MLA Kulgam, Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, today presented two particular issues of Early Times to Speaker of Legislative Assembly and demanded a thorough investigation by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the charges of corruption and other malpractices against the officials of the State Transport Department. In a series of reports on March 13^th and 14^th, this newspaper had revealed how one group of corrupt officials had sponsored a “sting operation” against another group of corrupt officials in an attempt to grab “plum postings”. It had also published an investigative story on how a junior assistant had been inducted into the prestigious Kashmir Administrative Service (KAS) and retained on a prize position in Transport Department inspite of the fact that records of all inquiries against him, as also official records of the 50,000 driving licenses issued by him in two years in Doda-Udhampur, had been destroyed.

Participating in the discussion on grants of CAPD and Transport Department in Assembly, veteran legislator Tarigami expressed his concern over reports of rampant corruption in both the departments. He said that a scandal over pilferage of sugar had surfaced in recent past and an investigation was underway. Tarigami referred to the March 9^th incident---when BJP MLA from Basohli, Jagdish Raj Sapolia, presented cash worth Rs 20,000 and a CD to Speaker and demanded an inquiry against ARTO of Doda---and said that the story behind the story was equally appalling.

The CPI (M) leader waved both issues of Early Times and presented them to incharge Speaker, Chowdhary Mohammad Ramzan, with the request that the same be made part of the Assembly proceedings. He said that the inquiry previously ordered by Minister incharge Transport over demand of the MLA and endorsement of Speaker (being conducted by RTO Jammu against the ARTO Doda) would not be effective in light of the fresh facts exposed by the newspaper. He urged the Speaker to refer the entire scandal of sting operation, coupled by mysterious disappearance of the records of 50,000 driving licenses and disproportionate assets of the accused officials, for a detailed investigation to CBI or any other effective forum.

Incharge Speaker, Ch Ramzan, received both the issues of the newspaper and made them part of the House proceedings. Since Speaker, Mohammad Akbar Lone, was not in chair, Tarigami’s demand is expected to be disposed off in a couple of days. Later, in his reply to the discussion, Minister incharge Transport, Qamar Ali Akhoon, claimed that the accused official had been inducted into KAS by General Administration Department only after he got NOCs from State Vigilance Organisation (SVO) and CBI.

Notwithstanding an exceptionally clean image of Minister incharge Transport, Qamar Ali Akhoon, as well as Transport Commissioner, Dr Syed Mohammad Fazalullah, corruption and manipulation of prize postings has become a routine in the Transport Department. Touts operating on behalf of middle-rung officials in State Transport Authority (STA) as well as several offices of Regional Transport Officers (RTOs) and Assistant RTOs, have been collecting fixed amounts of bribe money for everything from issuance of driving licenses and registration certificates to commercial route permits and fitness certificates. Licenses and certificates of many “paid clients” are conveniently delivered at their residences.

One of the officials, who had been got appointed by his father (then RTO Jammu) some 17 years back as a Junior Assistant, has risen to executive positions of ARTO and Chief Inspector of the Board of Inspections. According to insiders, he also managed to neutralize all inquiries against him and got entire records destroyed. In 2001-2003, same official functioned as ARTO of Udhampur, with additional charge of ARTO Doda, and issued as many as 50,000 driving licenses in just 26 months of his tenure. Original records of 48,000 of these driving licenses have been destroyed. Officials have written in response to a query to Vigilance Organisation Jammu that just Xerox copies of 1930 licenses were now available in the office of ARTO Doda.

The middle-rung official of the Transport Department, allegedly responsible for issuing licenses in violation of codal formalities and subsequently destruction of original records, has been inducted into KAS and retained on a higher position in the same department. More surprisingly, same official, with patronage of senior bureaucrats and politicians, was now collecting certificates of “high integrity” from government functionaries and aspiring for a gold medal from Omar Abdullah’s government.

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