INSTITUTIONALIZED CORRUPTION: Tehelka Sting Op exposes rot in Assam Rifles

Guwahati: With corruption creeping into every system across the country, India's oldest paramilitary force Assam Rifles (AR) too is embroiled in a major corruption worth crores of rupees in their tender deals. Mathrubhumi News, in a sting operation conducted by Tehelka Group, has exposed the widespread corruption in Assam Rifles, where high level officers are seen accepting bribes. Visuals of the bribe being exchanged by officials have been telecast by the channel.

The malaise of corruption, which runs deep in our society, has spread to matters concerning national security. This should be a rude wake-up call for the Central government, the armed forces and the public alike. Corruption is eating into the vitals of the Assam Rifles, a force spearheading counter-insurgency operations in India’s Northeast. And as it assumes alarming proportions, Assam Rifles is turning out be a bad advertisement for India’s paramilitary forces.

A new sting by Tehelka has exposed the rampant corruption in India’s oldest Paramilitary force- Assam Rifles. Tehelka through an ex-Jawan who is a contractor registered with the Assam Rifles had helped the SIT in exposing the well oiled mechanism of corruption that exists in the Assam Rifles.

In the past, there were certain allegations made against India’s oldest paramilitary force with regard to the use (and misuse) of the discretionary funds. However, Tehelka reveals a clear and present danger in the organised manner in which some Assam Rifles personnel are taking cuts from contractors for the smooth passage of tenders, thereby tarnishing the organisation as a whole. The bribes are openly taken by the men in uniform sitting inside their respective offices.

Assam Rifles was started 179 years back and described as custodians of law. The Assam Rifles had many names before it took the present role in 1917. The main role is to maintain law and order and guard the Indo-Myanmar border. The main problem lies in the fighting between many tribes in and around Assam. It has 46 battalions under its command.

The Defence ministry had allotted Rs. 3000 crore towards Assam Rifles in the current financial. Tehelka showed the visuals on its TV. The substance of the story in its entirety is that any construction work that is awarded to the contractor, Assam Rifles’ administrative office gets 30% commission starting from lower rung to top rung.

Construction projects envisioned under the annual budget are implemented through tenders. Officials at every level make sure that they get their share of money every time a proposal moves from one table to another. The contractors who pay bribe reveal that for any project, 30 percent of its cost goes straight into the officials’ pockets. This adversely affects the quality of the construction activity. Such is the extent of the rot in the Assam Rifles that officials openly accept money in their offices.

The modus operandi is simple. A contractor, who floats a tender for any construction activity in the area administered by the Assam Rifles, is supposed to go through a particular network to disburse cash at every level. The booty is shared by lower-level clerks as well as the director-general, who is of lieutenant-general rank. The high-ranking officials do not take cash directly; their subordinates do it on their behalf.

A senior contractor who has been in this business for the past seven years rues the day he decided to take up this profession. His grouse is quite valid. If a tender is worth Rs. 1 crore, then 30 percent of it (Rs 30 lakh) needs to be spent on ensuring that there are no bottlenecks in the smooth execution of the project. In other words, that 30 percent disappears without even the project getting started.

A contractor explaining the modus operandi says that even before the tender is allotted, around 12% goes off from the amount fixed. Rest of the money is paid in various stages of construction. The officers in rank of subedar and so on are openly shown taking money in the office and counting it. All of them are in their uniform.

The top officers in the rank of Lt. General to DG do not take the money directly but tell the contractor to give it to the subordinate. The subordinate too has to be given a bribe. The percentage varies from 1% which is for the official who opens the tender and approves it as it goes down, it is around 0.5% of the sanctioned amount.

The contractor who went to pay the commission was told to pay the bribes of the earlier works and even collected the share for a General who has since been transferred. The officer called the General and told him the good news. A person who is on leave told the contractor to bring the money to his house in Guwahati.

The Tehelka team posed as a person wanting to get a licence to be a contractor. He was told to pay Rs. 60,000. During A K Antony’s tenure too, Assam Rifles was involved in corruption charges and an inquiry was ordered but the matter did not result in punishing the guilty.

The sting operation has brought Tehelka back into focus. Its expose of arms deal during Vajpayee ministry led to then defense minister George Feranandes and BJP National president quitting. 

 

By: daily.bhaskar.com