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Eyebrows raised on tainted officers' reinstatement

By Sujay Mehdudia

NEW DELHI SEPT. 13. Even as memories of the DDA bribery scam are fresh in the minds of Delhiites, the BJP-led Central Government has initiated an exercise to re-instate at least three senior IAS officials despite the investigations being in the final stages. The suspension and the `hasty' re-instatement have not only raised questions over the objectives of the CBI raids but also has political parties taking sides in favour of and against this move.

While the Congress is crying foul over decision of the Department of Personnel and Training (DOPT) to revoke the suspension of senior IAS officer, Subhash Sharma, the BJP has welcomed the decision stating that it proves that nothing had been found against the official even months after the raids. An exercise is already afoot to revoke the suspension of the two other officials, Jagdish Chandra and Vijay Risbud, who had been accused of showing undue favour and indulging in clandestine activities in allotment of land while serving in DDA. Mr. Sharma was the vice-chairman, DDA, when he was raided and subsequently suspended. At that time, it was only the Delhi BJP president, Madan Lal Khurana, who had come out strongly in his defence and had stood by his favourite officer. It is learnt that Mr. Khurana has played a major role in softening the stand of DOPT against Mr. Sharma enabling his re-instatement despite reported objections by the CBI.

Observers feel that the revocation of suspension and the failure of CBI to file a chargesheet within the stipulated 90 days have raised serious doubts about the turn of events. The CBI raids were authorised by the highest authorities only after it had come with damaging evidence about the accused officers indulging in corrupt practices through some middlemen. The raids had shaken the DDA and its officialdom providing a point that everything was wrong in the organisation which had been termed as one of the most corrupt set-ups in the world. After the raids, the CBI had patted itself on the back about the success it had achieved in breaking the nexus between officials and middlemen in the land and bribery scam and had even produced recorded tapes to prove its point.

The BJP-led Central Government had gone ahead and ordered the suspension of the officials raided by CBI in view of the public outcry against the corruption prevailing in DDA. It had alleged that Mr. Sharma had gone out of the way to oblige a number of builders and organisations and had bent rules for land allotment. Mr. Sharma, considered close to Mr. Khurana and one of the favourites to become the Delhi Chief Secretary if Mr.Khurana clinched the top post after the Assembly polls, had his reputation tarnished along with other officials. Now that the same set-up has revoked the suspension of Mr.Sharma and may post him at a less sensitive posting.

But the many questions remain unanswered in the entire episode. If the CBI had strong evidence against Mr. Sharma and other officials, then why have they been let off the hook? And if the charges were hyped up then the premier investigating agency has a lot to explain. In fact, the manner in which the charges are hyped at the preliminary investigation stage and then very little stand the test of law, then it raises the question about the purpose and intention of CBI and those who authorised these raids.

The DPCC president, Chaudhary Prem Singh, has termed the revocation of suspension of Mr. Sharma as another example of the nepotism and corruption prevailing in the Vapayee Government. The intentions of the BJP-led Central Government have come into question over the issue as to why in the first place raids were ordered if there was no strong evidence and if at all they were carried out then why this haste to revoke their suspension.

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