The Hindu : Front Page : Racket in sanctioning freedom fighters' pension

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jun 16, 2006

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Racket in sanctioning freedom fighters' pension

Y. Mallikarjun

Investigation by Vigilance and Enforcement Department detects fraud

HYDERABAD: The operation of a racket by brokers and instances of persons who were infants when the country gained independence receiving freedom fighters pension under the Centre's `Sainik Samman Pension Scheme' were detected following an investigation by sleuths of the Vigilance and Enforcement Department.

At least 30 per cent of the pension claims in a sample size of 400 in Warangal, Karimnagar, Khammam and Nalgonda districts turned out to be questionable, official sources told The Hindu.

In some 90 cases, freedom fighters were found to have fallen short of the minimum stipulated age and falsification of age was detected in several cases.

The department recently conducted the enquiry following the Government's directive in the wake of complaints about authenticity of some claims. In all 7,300 freedom fighters are getting pension in the State.

The sources quoted several persons as having told the sleuths that they had paid amounts ranging from Rs.10,000 to Rs. 40,000 to brokers for securing pension.

As many as 31of the 153 claims verified in Karimnagar district were found to have been routed through brokers.

More than 20 persons admitted that they had not been underground for the stipulated period of six months.

In many cases, village elders had expressed doubts about pensioners' authenticity, but refused to give in writing.

A person who was not less than 15 years in 1947 and suffered imprisonment or remained underground for at least six months or arrested during the freedom movement is eligible for the pension.

Since pre-independence school records were not available in most cases, electoral lists of 1995 and earlier years were taken to determine the age. As a result, inconsistencies were detected in many cases. In some instances the age was found to be 50 in the 1995 voter list, which meant they were just two-year-old in 1947.

In another instance, the age of a person remained constant at 50 in the 1988, 1993 and 1995 electoral lists.

With age being the central issue, the department was unable to give a clear-cut finding. "Though there was enough ground to feel something was amiss, relying entirely on voter lists for age is not proper," the sources added.

The department has recommended action in cases where tampering has been detected and left it to the Government to decide appropriately in others.

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