Month: January 2018

Were the real culprits exposed? Investigation points that belts sample was not given for cross-checking

By Paojel Chaoba

IMPHAL | Jan 3

The state police department which was  rocked by a scandal pertaining to supply of inferior quality belts referred to as ‘paper belts’is now seemingly sweeping its filth under the carpet. The case has now been resolved following an tame agreement that 20 numbers of “defective belts” will be replaced. It is also learnt that no sample of these belts was given for cross checking.

Background

Following a source from the social media that the ‘paper belts’ were being stored in the 1 MR campus, chief minister, N. Biren Singh had gone  to the storage room and himself inspected the belts. He found that the belts could be torn with his bare hands and later demonstrated it before the media at a press conference held on June 7 last.

An inquiry committee was instituted comprising of IAS Suhail Akhtar, additional chief secretary R. Sudan and IPS Soibam Ibocha and the inquiry report was submitted. The government investigation had implicated three police officials in the scam.

Action taken up against them included suspension from service and holding back retirement benefits.

While Senapati SP, F. Gonglin and additional SP (Ops), M. Kumarjit was suspended, retired IPS, S. Manglemjao’s pension benefit was held back.

Now, the matter has been resolved following replacement of only 20 belts. Each of these will be replaced at a cost of Rs 117 per piece.

The following is the finding of an investigation conducted by Imphal Free Press.

Case against supplier

In furtherance of the inquiry and representing the state government, IGP (Admistration) Soibam Ibocha lodged a report to Imphal police station under FIR number 174(6)2017 under section 406/409/420/120-B of the Indian Penal Code against the supplier of the belts namely one Md. Abdul Gani from Masjid Road. (Gani had supplied 20,000 numbers of belts at a cost of Rs 23,40,000 back in 2014). He was arrested and interrogated.

As per statements of Gani during interrogation, he had divulged that he supplied “black belt” and not “leather belt” and the belts were kept at the 1 MR campus. Later, only 20 belts were recovered and seized from there as per Soibam Ibocha’s affidavit given to the High Court of Manipur. Gani was later released on bail by the court on health grounds. His firm was blacklisted by the government on October 31, 2017.

Agreement with DGP

When the tender for the belts was accepted on 5 April, 2014, there was an agreement between Gani and the then DGP. The agreement in clause (5) mentioned that the first party ( Gani) agrees that in the event of rejecting by the second party (DGP) on the ground of any manufacturing defect or otherwise, Gani will replace the items by new ones as per specification at his own cost.

The blacklist was finally cancelled on Dec 20 last following an order of the home department stating that the law department has been consulted in this regard and Gani should replace the defective belts. The case registered against him had apparently no merit as per the court’s proceedings. Gani also in a statement in response to a show cause notice served on Dec 21, 2017 said that the government had charged him with only 20 numbers of defective belts and he will replace them, further that the ratio of defective belts is 1:1000 which is quite negligible.

Further, the said belts cannot be identified as belonging to his supply being devoid of identification marks on the belts and the belt procurement is a continuing process. His supply was back in 2014 and the self life is 2 years for a belt.

Police supply process

The requisition of supplies for the police depends on the protocol that an evaluation committee shall first invite firms for procurement of the needed items in the form of tender. Later, a tender committee shall inspect the bids and quality of the goods. The tender committee will finish the purchase protocol and finally hand it over to a line committee. The duty of the line committee is to inspect whether the goods supplied adhere to the specifications and to the sample given by the tender committee. It was learnt that  the line committee never received the sample from the tender committee in regard to the belt supply. This failure of the tender committee to submit the sample for matching with the supplied items merits a question. How will the line committee check the supplied items (the belts) if the belt sample was not given, sources asked.

For the sourced items for the police including the belts for 2014, the evaluation committee was comprised of IPS Pachao, MPS Ibotombi Singh and IAS Bobby Waikhom. They committee invited tender and samples from various firms. The tender committee was comprised of additional chief secretary (Finance) R. R. Rashmi, principal secretary (Home ) J. Suresh Babu, DGP Shahid Ahmed and additional secretary (Finance) H. Gyanprakash. They are the committee members who finalized the quality of the product to be purchased and procured the items. The last committee that will check the quality approved is the line committee, which was comprised of IPS, S. Manglemjao, IPS F. Gonglin and additional SP, M Kumarjit. The line committee checked the 1024 belts at 1 MR on June 23, 2014 and another remaining 18,976 belts on July 21, 2014.

Sample not given

 It is alleged that the line committee was not provided with the sample to be matched with the supplied belts. It was learnt in this investigation that the line committee is seldom provided with the specified sample for cross checking with the supplied items which leaves a huge room for manipulation in the supply process. This is the main reason for the police department being supplied with inferior materials which causes a huge discontent among the police ranks.

It was also learnt from reliable sources that owing to the police hierarchy, the junior ranks do not complain about the “faulty process” of their seniors about the loop-hole in the tender and supply process. In this compliance of hierarchy, the line committee also signed the inspection report and mentioned that specifications are adhered to. As per sources, this is the crux of the problem and a proper tender process needs to be adapted for the police web equipment supply.

Officials let off hook?

The investigation points to the flaw that the state government had suspended officials as a punishment in the belt scam, but were the suspended officials left high and dry and as sacrificial lambs? Another question raised is why the tender committee did not hand over the belt sample for checking to the line committee and why the tender committee is also not being investigated also. The charges slapped on the suspended officials are based on the inspection carried out by the chief minister at the store room of 1 MR and not on the investigation report conducted by IAS, Suhail Akhtar. 

TAMENGLONG | Jan 3

Zeliangrong Youth Front (ZYF), Tamenglong zone strongly denounced the state government for passing bill for giving right to vote for nominee members of Autonomous District Council (ADC) in hill district of Manipur in recently concluded of State Legislative Assembly.

The statement signed by finance secretary of ZYF Tamenglong, Melodi Gangmei said that the voting right of ADC nominee member in any meeting or proceeding of the district council is unconstitutional.

The High Court of Manipur has equivocally denounced the right of the nominee members of ADC in its judgement pronounced on October 10, 2017

The statement further said that the bill introduced by MLA is nothing but a contempt of court and violation of its judgement passed.