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Suspended DVB official gets jail

For possessing illegal assets to the tune of 14 lakhs

New Delhi: Taking a serious view of increasing corruption in Government offices, a Delhi court on Saturday sentenced a 52-year-old Delhi Vidyut Board official to four years rigorous imprisonment for possessing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.

Special Judge G. P. Mittal held A. K. Gupta, a suspended Superintendent in DVB, guilty of possessing illegal assets to the tune of Rs 14 lakh and slapped a fine of Rs one lakh on him.

The entire sum of Rs 14 lakh has been forfeited to the state out of the property seized by the CBI, the investigating agency in this case.

``Public servants indulge in corruption because it is a low risk and high gain venture. Unless a message is given to reverse this feeling, it will be very difficult to curtail corruption in the society and particularly in publc servants,'' the judge said in his order.

According to the prosecution, Gupta after completing his diploma in electrical engineering took up a job in DVB (erstwhile called as Delhi Electricity Supply Undertaking) in 1978. He was regularised in March 1980.

Subsequently he was promoted as an Inspector in 1982 and in 1993, he was promoted to the rank of Superintendent. On February 26, 1997, Gupta was apprehended while demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 5,500 from a person.

During the probe, CBI recovered cash amounting to over Rs 13 lakh and other jewellery articles from his possession and he failed to provide any satisfactory answer of these assets to the agency. Gupta amassed the assets during the period from 1980 to 1997 by abusing his official position.

He had also tried to create false documents in order to explain the presence of disproportionate assets, the prosecution further argued.

``The Prevention of Corruption Act came to force in 1988, with a view to curbing corruption amongst public servants, but it failed to have a desired effect. The reason is that, only a few people make complaints regarding demand of illegal gratification by public servants,'' the judge said in his order.

Gupta was convicted under Sections 13 (2) and 13 (1)(e) of the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act, 1988. PTI

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