A consignment containing gold and other precious metals worth lakhs of rupees, seized from Old Delhi Railway Station in 2014, now has a mysterious story that could potentially implicate a top Delhi Government officer.

During the movement of files, the records pertaining to the said seizure caught the attention of the Department of Trade and Taxes. Following this, the officer has been tracked.

Initial probes have found that crucial details such as the owner, origin, and the actual quantity of gold and silver remain shrouded in mystery. What is alarming is the “missing” 12 kg of gold, 36 kg of silver, and `7 lakh in currency from the bundles.

Surprisingly, these were stored in a conference room at Vyapar Bhawan, instead of being documented in a vault.

A lapse ensued as a five-day delay in inventory creation raised eyebrows, leaving the nation in the dark about the magnitude of the seized treasures. Now, nearly a decade later, a DANICS officer may face heat for alleged lapses.

There was no justification for why the inventory was not made for five days after its seizure in 2014. It remains a mystery what the actual quantity of gold and silver seized on March 01, 2014, is.

Moreover, at one point, the Chief Secretary and Chief Minister recommended disciplinary action. However, things went topsy-turvy when the Deputy Chief Minister recorded that no action could be taken without knowing the status of the investigation by the Delhi Police.

The report of the Principal Secretary (Home) pointed out mistakes on the part of senior officers, ranging from Joint Commissioner to Commissioner.

One officer was chargesheeted and subsequently got exonerated. Another officer was given premature retirement under 56(j) (Om Karan, Asst. Commissioner), but he was reinstated by the Representation Committee.

Recently, the junior staff put up a file before the bosses to close the case in the absence of an actual complainant. However, a chance discovery of a file noting made the Directorate of Vigilance reexamine the file and recommend disciplinary action against the officer involved in this case.

The vigilance directorate, in an agenda document for the NCCSA meeting (date yet to be announced), has said that a proposal for action against three officers is being sent to the Ministry of Home Affairs after the approval of the Lieutenant Governor, as they are currently posted outside Delhi.

According to the Directorate of Vigilance’s (DoV) agenda document, a probe by then-Principal Secretary (Home) Archana Arora revealed “supervisory lapses” on the part of two IAS and one DANICS (Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Island Civil Services) officers who were serving at the Trade and Taxes department at the time of the theft.

Acting on a tip-off, an enforcement team from the Trade and Taxes department seized 16 kg of gold, 200 kg of silver, and currency notes worth `33 lakh from two porters at the Old Delhi Railway Station on March 1, 2014.

The valuables in 24 bundles were later moved to a temporary safe place and then transferred for safekeeping to a room on the 13th floor of the Trade and Taxes department building on March 9, 2014.

The probe report by the then-Principal Secretary (Home) identified various lapses, such as no details of the porters being taken and no efforts made to contact railway authorities to determine the owners and recipients of the parcel through which the gold and silver items were brought into Delhi.

The report also noted that from the date of seizure on March 1, 2014, to March 5, 2014, no inventory of the seized items was prepared. Later, the inventory was completed on March 11, 2014, indicating that approximately 16 ks of gold, 200 kg of silver, and currency worth `33 lakh were seized from the railway station. The total value of the seized items was roughly calculated to be more than `8 crore.

“On the night of May 9, 2014, valuables, including 12 kg of gold, 36 kg of silver, besides currency notes worth `7.36 lakh, were stolen,” said a senior government officer.

An FIR was registered for the theft the next day. Later, in June 2014, an inquiry was handed over to the then-Principal Secretary (Home) by the Chief Secretary.

It was alleged that the report of the Principal Secretary (Home), which assigned responsibility to the officers concerned and highlighted lapses on their part, was not shown to the Lieutenant Governor, according to officers.

It was also reported that no CCTV cameras were installed where the seized valuables were kept, and it was being watched by only two security guards.

“Interestingly, a senior officer recorded on the file of the matter that the seized items could be deposited with the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence or Customs Authorities. Still, this note was subsequently double-pasted, recommending storing the same in the conference hall of the Trade and Taxes Building,” the Delhi Government officer said.

While there is no clue as to where the gold and silver came from and where they were heading, the vigilance department, which was probing the charges of irregularities by the tax officials, has recommended disciplinary action against the DANICS officer currently serving in the Delhi Government.

The officer was serving as a Joint Commissioner at the Trade and Taxes department at the time of the theft.”