98 traffic cops suspended for Blueline graft

NEW DELHI: In an unprecedented step, Delhi Police on Saturday suspended 98 of its personnel after a vigilance inquiry identified them in a tape in which they were allegedly seen accepting bribes. The tape was part of a sting operation conducted with the help of some Blueline operators. It had been submitted to Delhi High Court in a PIL by petitioner Chetan Sharma. This only confirms what people in the Capital have always suspected. That the brazen manner in which Bluelines flout traffic rules in the city and keep spilling the blood of innocents is possible only because of the complicity of the system which should discipline and penalise them. The suspended officials include 11 sub-inspectors, 11 assistant sub-inspectors, 10 head constables and 66 constables, all posted with the traffic police wing when the sting operation was carried out. A departmental inquiry has also been ordered against 10 traffic inspectors. Delhi Police spokesperson Rajan Bhagat said all the 98 officials were identified after the tapes were reviewed by the vigilance department. "They have all been placed under suspension on prima facie inquiry. The matter is still under investigation and those found guilty may face dismissal from service," he said. The tapes are still being examined to establish their authenticity, he said. However, the Central Vigilance Commission, which had also been asked by Delhi High Court to look into the allegations, had verified the authenticity of the tapes. Bhagat recalled that Sharma had submitted the tapes to the court which had passed them on to the commissioner of police asking for an inquiry. The commissioner asked the vigilance department to probe the allegations. Joint CP, traffic, S N Srivastava, who took over charge after the probe was ordered, was unavailable for comment. Sharma had approached Delhi High Court claiming he had secretly filmed traffic cops demanding and receiving bribes from drivers of speeding Bluelines as part of a widespread racket. Stunned by this allegation made in a PIL, a division bench of Chief Justice M K Sharma and Justice Aruna Suresh forwarded the copy of the tapes to the Union home ministry, Delhi Police commissioner and central vigilance commission to verify their authenticity.
THE TIMES OF INDIA; 6 Apr 2008, 0548 hrs IST , TNN