In an unprecedented administrative mix-up a Bengal IAS officer facing corruption charges was arrested by a senior IPS colleague who was however shunted out of his post within hours of conducting the arrest by the State Government for “exceeding his brief.”
Siliguri Commissioner of Police J Jayaraman on Saturday arrested Malda District Magistrate Godala Kiran Kumar in Rs70-crore scam that took place when Kumar was the Chief Executive Officer of Siliguri-Jalpaiguri-Development-Authority during 2012-13.
Hours later Jayaram got the marching orders from a furious political executive even as Chief Secretary Sanjay Mitra said “neither the Chief Minister nor the Chief Minister or the DGP were informed about the arrests” adding such a step was unprecedented because it lacked propriety.
“It seems that he exceeded his brief by not intimating the State Government” Mitra said even as he reasoned “we do not say that the Government would not have acted but the CP should in all fitness of things have informed the Government because arrests are normally made in cases where there is an apprehension that the accused may abscond or tamper with evidence. In this case he was not in a position of tampering evidence or influencing witnesses as he had been shifted out to a different district. Besides he had responded to the summons of the police and come to Siliguri for questioning.”
Mitra also said the Siliguri Commissioner of Police had been directed to immediately report to the DGP in Kolkata. “For now IG North Bengal SK Pujari has been asked to officiate in his place” till Javed Shamim another officer took over as the Siliguri CP.
The DM charged under Sections 120B, 409, 467 and Prevention of Corruption Act was later remanded to four-day police custody by a Siliguri fast-track court, police said.
Kumar a former CEO of the SJDA was moved out of his post after the reports of multi-crore scam became public. The scam relates to purchase of CCTV cameras, tender works for sewerage lines, trident lights etc sources said adding a probe committee constituting experts from Jadavpur University had found great irregularity in the purchases.
With names of some local Trinamool MlAs and a former chairman of SJDA Rudranath Bhattacharya, four engineers also figuring in the scam former Minister and CPI(M) leader Ashok Bhattacharya said “the transfer of the CP has been ordered because the Government wants to hush up the case.”
While a section of administration explained the goof up in terms of a faceoff between the IAS and IPS cadres informed sources saw the incident reflected Jayaraman’s “lack of confidence in the political executive as he acted secretly and fast before he could be transferred out of Siliguri.”
While there was no comment from the ruling party leaders insiders said the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was furious with the IPS officer who in all probablity would be kept in “compulsory waiting.”