Bullied for exposing corruption in dept

Official had wanted FIR against colleague

 A senior Uttar Pradesh official, who exposed corruption in his department and recommended registration of a criminal case against an officer for reducing his age by fudging the records, is now being hounded by his seniors as well as by a ministerin charge of his department.

Harishankar Pandey, special secretary in the Rural Engineering Services (RES), has been asked by his seniors not to handle any files till further orders and even his official vehicle has been taken away from him, according to sources.

Sources said that the minister Rajendra Singh Rana is reportedly unhappy with the
official as he was not ‘cooperative’. He has demanded that Pandey be immediately shunted from the department.

Pandey’s alleged harassment began when he recommended suspension of another senior official Uma Shankar Singh after a probe. He had also suggested that an FIR be registered against Singh for reducing his age by six years by tampering with records during the previous Mayawati regime.

His department’s principal secretary Ashok Kumar was however not happy with the probe report. Kumar allegedly issued a verbal direction that no official file should be sent to Pandey. The official vehicle provided to him was also withdrawn.

An undeterred Pandey later wrote to the government apprehending a huge scam in the RES department and cited a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) to buttress his contention.

He also sought a thorough investigation into the alleged scam.
He also wrote to senior officials apprehending threat to his life and apprised them about his harassment.

According to sources, even Rana was not happy with Pandey’s probe demand.
Some time back a senior UP police official created a flutter here by alleging that the entire state police force, including its chief, was ‘corrupt’.

V K Sharma, an officer of the UP Provincial Police Service alleged that he had been shunted from several postings after he refused to succumb to the ‘illegal’ demands of his superiors.

“I am paying a heavy price for my refusal. I have not been paid my salary for the past three months,” he had said.