Graft case evidence indicates corruption in Chandigarh Estate Office

The transcript of a purported conversation between the CBI complainant and the UT Estate Office employee, who was allegedly caught taking bribe yesterday, has pointed towards ‘widespread corruption’ within the department.

The suspect, Satpal, had told the complainant that he acted as a liaison for officers in the department to get bribes in lieu of doing various works.

Satpal, a dealing assistant in the Colony Branch of the Estate Office, was nabbed on a complaint filed by Narayan Swami of Bapu Dham Colony, Sector 26. The complainant had stated that the suspect had told him that he was living in his house illegally. Narayan had told the suspect that he had a 2013 court order in his favour and submitted the same to the Estate Office for the issuance of rent receipt.

The complainant alleged that the suspect was demanding Rs 2.50 lakh to sort out the matter. According to the CBI FIR, the recorded conversation between the complainant and the suspect confirmed the bribe demand.

During the conversation, the suspect mentioned that Sanjiv, in charge of the Colony Branch, was handling the complainant’s case. The suspect had claimed that he collected bribe on behalf of officers of the Estate Office.

The CBI has said that Sanjiv’s involvement will be investigated as part of the ongoing inquiry into the corruption allegations.

Excerpts of conversation

Suspect: Meri Baat Sunn Le.. Ye toa mae direct aa gya… kisi or ko agar mae bolta na toa Rs 3.5 lakh ki demand karke vo 3 mere ko de jate (I’ve come to you directly. If I had told someone else, the demand would have been Rs 3.5 lakh, and I would have received Rs 3 lakh)

Suspect: Vo apne aap bta denge ki DC office mae baitha hain..ki matlab yh hi kaam krwata hai.. mae hu dealing hand pe (If you had asked around, you’d know that I’m the one who handles such deals and gets the work done)

Complainant: Acha dealing hand pe ho aap (Ok you are the dealing hand)

Suspect: Haan… dealing hand pe matlab yeh hota hai ki koe bhi afsar kisi ka bhi kaam ayega mere through hi lega apke woh (Yes, I’m the dealing hand, which means that if any work has to be done, officer will deal through me)

Complainant: Acha (Ok)

Suspect: Payment direct nahi lenge vo (The officer won’t accept payment directly)

Suspect: Payment mae he lunga… payment mae he leke dunga (I will collect the payment on their behalf and pass it on to them)

Second arrest in less than 3 months

This is the second instance of an Estate Office employee being nabbed by the CBI in a graft case. On July 22, the bureau caught Raj Kamal, a Dealing Assistant at the Estate Office, Sector 17, for allegedly accepting Rs 20,000 in bribe. He was accused of demanding graft from the complainant in lieu of partly waiving the dues pending against his booth in the Sector 46 market.