Top Gujarat PSU fails to find irregularities against "rough-and-tough" non-IAS babu, compensates

Atanu Chakraborty, JN Singh, AK Vijay Kumar

By Our Representative
The three-year old tug-of-war between AK Vijay Kumar, a non-IAS babu known for his rough-and-tough ways, and Atanu Chakraborty, a Gujarat cadre industry-friendly IAS bureaucrat, has come to an end following intervention by Gujarat chief secretary JN Singh and two other bureaucrats.
Kumar, who previously served the now defunct PSU Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) is currently special officer, industries, Government of Kerala, and official on special duty, investment promotion, Government of Andhra Pradesh on a "pro-bono basis" in Delhi. Chakroborty, ex-MD, GSPC, a former boss of Kumar, is secretary, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM), Government of India.
Things heated up in 2015-16, say sources, after Chakraborty “compulsorily" retired Kumar from GSPC on the basis of a five month discrepancy over the latter's birth date. This was "backed up" with an FIR filed with the Gandhinagar police accusing Kumar of "irregularities" worth Rs 5.33 lakh for purchase of food and miscellaneous office expenses spread over five years at the GSPC's Delhi office, where Kumar had represented the PSU.
Asserting that it was meant to settle scores over a scuffle dating back to 1997, Kumar went to the Gujarat High Court to quash the FIR. Claiming the FIR was filed on the basis of a private audit and CAG didn't find anything irregular, Kumar's petition said, “The complainant had directly approached the local district police in furtherance of mala fide intentions to harass the petitioners by implicating them in a criminal offence."
Meanwhile, an additional DG-level topcop was resportedly sent to the village where Kumar was born to ascertain his "exact" birth date.
Known for his excellent rapport with top officials when Narendra Modi was Gujarat chief minister, "helping" him become the first non-IAS official from the corporate sector to become special investment commissioner of the Gujarat government in 2011, Kumar has now got a major reprieve.
The state government accepted his version of birth date, paying him five months' salary. The FIR, which was transferred to CID crime, has been quashed following submission of “A summary” report to the court, as "no evidence" was found against Kumar. The court cases have been also withdrawn.
The settlement, say sources, has been reached at the intervention of JN Singh, Gujarat chief secretary, who also happens to be chairman, GSPC, MM Srivastava, former additional chief secretary, finance, currently serving as chairman, Gujarat State Petronet Ltd (a GSPC subsidiary), and T Natarajan, MD, GSPC.

Comments

ISKCON UK 'clarifies' after virus infects devotees, 5 die due to big temple meet

By Rajiv Shah
The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), United Kingdom (UK), has admitted that at least 21 of its devotees were infected because of the spread of the coronavirus amongst the UK devotee community following the March 12 funeral and March 15 memorial of the Bhaktivedanta Manor temple president, in which about 1,000 people participated. Regretting that five of the devotees have passed away, the top Hindu religious in Britain body does not deny more may have been infected.

Mallika Sarabhai releases speech she was 'not allowed' to give at NID Convocation on Feb 7

Counterview Desk
The National Institute of Design (NID) in Ahmedabad, a Ministry of Commerce and Industry body, landed itself in controversy following its decision to put off its 40th convocation ceremony, where noted danseuse Mallika Sarabhai was invited as chief guest. The ceremony was scheduled to be held on February 7.

As corona virus 'travels' to rural areas, NGO begins training tribals, marginalised women

By Souparno Chatterjee*
The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared corona virus a pandemic. Originating from Wuhan in China, it has traversed the entire globe, almost, and claimed more than 16,000 lives already. That’s largely the urban population. In India, despite all the preparedness and war-like promptness to safeguard against the pandemic, several lives have been lost , and hundreds of individuals have tested positive.

Rani Laxmi Bai, Tatya Tope 'martyred' by East India Company, Scindia's forefathers

By Our Representative
In an email alert to Counterview, well-known political scientist Shamsul Islam has said that was “shameful for any political party in democratic India to keep children of Sindhias in their flock” given their role during the First War of Indian Independence (1857). In a direct commentary on Madhya Pradesh Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia moving over to BJP, Prof Islam has quote from a British gazetteer to prove his point.

COVID-19: Dalit rights bodies regret, no relief plan yet for SCs, STs, marginalized

By Our Representative
In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the National Dalit Watch-National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights, endorsed* by several other Dalit rights organizations, have insisted, the Government of India should particular care of the scheduled castes and tribes, trans folks, persons with disabilities and the women and children from these communities, while fighting against COVID-19 pandemic.

Coronavirus scare ‘pushing’ people from Northeast India into more hardship

By Rishiraj Sinha, Biswanath Sinha*
“No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background or his religion. People learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.” – Nelson Mandela
***

Gujarat govt plan to 'banish' Gandhian activist anti-democratic, unconstitutional

By Rohit Prajapati*
The current Central and Gujarat governments, and their bureaucracy, have been and are still unable to answer and address the concerns raised, with facts, figures, and constitutional provisions, regarding the terror of tourism in the name of the Statue of Unity and tourism projects surrounding it.

Gujarat construction workers walk home as Rs 2,900 crore welfare fund lies unused

By Our Representative
Situated behind the Gujarat University, some of the families of the migrant construction workers from Dahod and Panchmahals districts of Gujarat, and a few from Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, who had stayed put in make-shift shanties in Ahmedabad’s sprawling GMDC Ground, have begun a long journey, by foot, back to their home villages in the eastern tribal belt of Gujarat.

Modi, Shah 'forget': Gandhi’s first Satyagraha was against citizenship law of South Africa

By Nachiketa Desai*
Hindu fanatic Nathuram Godse assassinated Mahatma Gandhi once on January 30, 1948 but his followers raising the war cry of ‘Jai Sriram’ are killing the Mahatma every day. In his home state of Gujarat, Gandhiji was killed a thousand times in 2002 when over 2,000 Muslims were butchered, their women raped, homes and shops plundered and set on fire and even unborn babies ripped out of the wombs of their mothers.

Counterview

Search This Blog