Indian Express 27.05.2010
Top cop to probe MCD scam
Utkarsh Anand Tags : MCD ghost employees case, delhi Posted: Thu May 27 2010, 00:59 hrs
New delhi: The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) on Wednesday came up with a new report on the issue of ‘ghost employees’, claiming that as opposed to the earlier number of 22,583, only 2,000 employees could not be accounted for after completion of a comprehensive probe.In an earlier report, the civic body had admitted to a scam running for years as a result of what it called a “collusion between the employees’ union affiliated to various political groups and some junior officers of the MCD”.
The Delhi High Court was, however, in no mood to listen to the MCD’s latest turnaround and directed the Delhi Police Commissioner Y S Dadwal to conduct an independent probe.
“While many allegations are levelled in the petition against the MCD, we discard all reports submitted in the court. There should be a thorough investigation by the commissioner of the city police so that truth can be revealed,” a Division Bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Madan B Lokur said.
The court’s refusal to rely on the internal inquiry report came after the latest report differed from the previous report on several counts.
“Your earlier report said there was a gap of 22,583 employees. How can you turn around and tell us there were only over 2,000 employees unaccounted for in the MCD?” Justice Lokur asked senior advocate Ravi Shankar Prasad.
Justice Misra also sought the assistance of the Delhi government’s standing counsel Najmi Waziri in the matter. The Bench gave the Delhi Police commissioner two months to complete the probe.
