Anti-Corruption Bureau makes revelation in RTI reply
*Findings of verification shared with GAD Secy
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Aug 21: No irregularity has been found by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in the much-hyped Jammu and Kashmir Group Mediclaim Insurance Policy ‘scam’, which was unearthed by none else than the then Governor Satya Pal Malik, who had even stated that officers involved in the ‘fraud’ will be punished.
This has come to the fore in the reply furnished by the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) in the Anti-Corruption Bureau Anil Gandotra, who is also Senior Prosecuting Officer, in response to an application filed under Right to Information Act.
On July 29, 2020, Advocate of J&K High Court Muzaffar Ali Shah had filed an application under the transparency law seeking information from the Anti-Corruption Bureau about the outcome of the enquiry conducted into the much-hyped Jammu and Kashmir Group Mediclaim Insurancy Policy ‘scam’.
In reply to the RTI application, the CPIO in Anti-Corruption Bureau mentions: “An open verification No.C-02/2018 was initiated on the basis of a communication received from the General Administration Department viz the J&K Group Mediclaim Insurance Policy. During the course of probe, no irregularity was found and consequently the same has been closed in this Bureau”.
“The report of the probe stands referred to the Commissioner/Secretary to Government, General Administration Department vide this office letter No.ACB-Veri-C-02/2018-15779 dated November 27, 2019”, read the reply, the copy of which is available with EXCELSIOR.
Interestingly, the findings of the Anti-Corruption Bureau were not put in the public domain by the Government even after the lapse of nine months despite the fact that people of J&K were eager to know the outcome of the ‘scam’ exposed by none else than the then Governor.
Even several political parties were demanding the Government to reveal the outcome of the probe conducted by the Anti-Corruption Bureau into the ‘fraud’ exposed by the then Governor.
It is pertinent to mention here that in the month of October 2018 the then Governor of J&K Satya Pal Malik had announced scrapping of Jammu and Kashmir Group Mediclaim Insurance Policy for Government employees with Anil Ambani’s Reliance General Insurance saying “it was full of frauds”.
In an interview, he had stated that the entire process was carried out in hush-hush manner and even the tenders were opened on holiday to suit a company. He had further revealed that Government hadn’t even called the tenders for the policy and a front company was floated by the officers to call the tenders, which were not uploaded on the Government website.
“The amount was changed to suit the company. The tender was opened on holiday. I went to root of the case to find out which officers were involved…how much amount was involved. More employees were added to the policy to raise the amount,” Malik had stated in a serious indictment of the Finance Department, which was responsible for implementation of the Policy.
Within days of startling revelation by the then Governor, the Government handed over the case of ‘frauds’ committed in Jammu and Kashmir Government Employees Group Mediclaim Insurance Policy with Anil Ambani’s Reliance General Insurance to Anti-Corruption Bureau as it was claimed that Finance Department had made an advance payment of Rs 60 crore to the insurance company without approval of the Governor or the Chief Secretary.
However, the Finance Department had justified the payment on the ground that 25 per cent payment out of total Rs 280 crore worth contract had to be made in advance and the findings of the Anti-Corruption Bureau have justified the stand of the Finance Department.
Even the Government employees were up in arms against the contract alleging it was framed out fraudulently.
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