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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Whistle blower ends up in ICU by Sunny Sebastian

Whistle blower ends up in ICU by Sunny Sebastian

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published Published on Feb 7, 2012   modified Modified on Feb 7, 2012

His crime: he complained of corruption in rural job guarantee scheme

Dhuraram Kuldiya, former Sarpanch of Somalsar Panchayat in Nohkha teshil of Bikaner district, did not sign an SOS he sent to Rajasthan Chief Secretary on Monday in the form of a letter. Instead, his son Bhanwarlal inked it.

Not that Dhuraram is illiterate. Admitted to a private hospital here in the State capital now, he cannot use his hands for both are broken at several places. It is not his hands alone. Both his legs are broken too.

Dhuraram's crime? Seeking information on road projects carried out under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) and later filing a complaint of irregularities in the anti-corruption court at Bikaner.

Paradoxically, Dhuraram was beaten up February 2, which is celebrated as MGNREGS Day. The victim's wife is a member of the Panchayat Samiti from the ruling Congress.

His son Bhanwarlal, who spoke to The Hindu , alleged the role of Somalsar Sarpanch Udi Devi's son Bhagwanaram in the attack which left his father with almost 10 fractures and injuries all over the body. The vehicle in which Dhuraram was moving towards Nokha was intercepted by Bhagwanaram, who was driving another vehicle. Soon, 10-15 persons, armed with rods and other weapons, pounced on him.

“It was a murderous assault. However, as soon as a passenger bus arrived at the spot the attackers fled,” said Bhanwarlal. A case was registered at the Nokha police station the same day under Section 307 (attempt to murder) though no one has been arrested so far. After four days in PBM Hospital in Bikaner, Dhuraram was brought to Jaipur and is admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of a private hospital.

Dhuraram appears to be yet another whistle blower who had come in the way of those misusing the funds of well-meaning programmes like the MGNREGS.

He started his attempts at getting information on the road projects in Nokha bloc from August 2010.

When the information was not forthcoming from the authorities, he located it on the website — that Rs.12 crore had been spent on the construction of gravel roads, and another Rs.8 crore on removing sand (the desert roads have sandstorms playing havoc, during certain seasons, obstructing the traffic) from August to October 2011.

“This is some impunity! First to carry out corruption of this magnitude and then to intimidate those who question it. They created an atmosphere of terror so that all concerned, including the project engineers and the higher authorities, kept quiet. Assistant Engineer Mirza Rehman even went on record writing to the Bikaner Collector on the pressure on him to sanction the work of removing the sand,” says social activist and National Campaign for People's Right to Information (NCPRI) member Nikhil Dey.

“Even the roads are not complete, not to talk about removing sand from those roads. As such, removing sand from the roads does not come under the works allowed under the MGNREGS. Under the job guarantee scheme, only development works which are of permanent nature or those create assets are allowed,” says Mr. Dey, who is a member of the Central Employment Guarantee Council.

“We had such a case before the Council in December last. The Jammu & Kashmir Government wanted to use MGNREGS funds for removal of snow from the roads, but we declined pointing out that the rules do not allow,” he notes.

Mr. Dey led a team which met Rajasthan Chief Secretary S. Ahmad, MGNREGS Commissioner Tanmay Kumar, Secretary to Chief Minister Rajat Misra and Inspector-General of Police, Chief Minister's Office, Saurabh Srivastava, to demand immediate arrest of the culprits.

Mr. Ahmed has reportedly asked the police authorities to speed up action against the accused and told Mr. Kumar to carry out an audit of the works in Nokha.

The Hindu, 7 February, 2012, http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/article2867100.ece


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