Nagpur: The Nagpur police’s interim report on the cash-for-transfer scam in the Nagpur Regional Transport Office (RTO) has been left in limbo due to the lack of response from the government, according to a report in local English daily.
According to the report, the Nagpur police had formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe irregularities in transfers in the RTO department, and the SIT had recommended the transfer of seven officials, including one from Kalyan, to different non-executive postings to be able to complete the probe in a fair manner and collect more concrete evidence.
The report underlined the “extreme complicity” of officials in the process of transfers, and it also mentioned that police may need suggestions and more clarity on the issue of the complainant when an offence is registered.
It is reported that key ministers and some officials from the government had orally conveyed to the city police top brass to unearth the scam after an audio clip went viral related to the allotment of choice postings against hefty payments via a former RTO official. The former RTO was brought to Nagpur by the Kalyan-based official to “fix” choice transfers.
Nagpur police had summoned hordes of senior RTO officials for questioning but had to send an interim report recommending transfers after finding that the flow of evidence was not leading to any concrete conclusion.
One of the Motor Vehicle Inspectors (MVI), who was recently booked in corruption cases by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), was also named as the one required to be shifted out of Nagpur. The government delay in response has only added yet another chapter of corruption to the controversies related to RTO.
One more MVI named for a transfer was behind the unexplained firing from his service revolver last year, in which he was injured. The city police had suppressed the incident then without registering an offence for mishandling of the service weapon. An inquiry started after the firing incident led to a rift in the RTO, which led to a series of complaints against each other among RTO officials, including a complaint of harassment.
The lack of response from the government has left the probe in the doldrums, and the delay in taking action against the officials involved in the scam has added to the corruption controversies related to the RTO.