Man offers bribe to Sibal for job
As the nation’s voice against corruption reached a crescendo during Anna Hazare’s fast for a strong anti-graft Jan Lokpal Bill, a resident of Ranch, in Jharkhand, resorted to a legal way of committing an illegal act- bribing, an offence that despite being commonplace till recently got the most heinous tag, all of a sudden.
The man in question, Om Prakash, who claimed himself to be hailing from Ranchi, sent a cheque of Rs 1 lakh to Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal, along with a letter requesting him for the job of deputy registrar of a central university in Jharkhand.
Sibal, who was already in the eye of a storm for the botched negotiation with Team Anna, however, was too cautious to take the bait. He got his official lodge a complaint in the police station here. An envelope containing Prakash’s letter was received by his ministry last week.
The Delhi police registered a case against Om Prakash under section 12 of Prevention of Corruption Act after the ministry’s Chief Vigilance Officer Amit Khare lodged a complaint on August 24 in this connection.
In his complaint, Khare said that a letter addressed to the minister along with the cheque No 361296, drawn on Canara Bank and payable to the Ministry of HRD was received.
The letter also contained a letter purportedly written by a person, Om Prakash, belonging to Dhurwa in Ranchi regarding his appointment to the post of Registrar or Deputy Registrar in Central University of Jharkhand, Khare charged.
“It appears from the letter that the cheque has been used as an inducement to get a favour. This matter has been viewed very seriously in the ministry,” Khare said.
The police said that the case was being investigated.
