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‘RTI activist’ held for taking bribes has links with MCD officials

Sharma had reportedly been threatening the builder over some illegal construction work in East Rohtash Nagar, Shahdara.

At least 75 Junior Engineers (JE) and Assistant Engineers, an Assistant Commissioner and a Deputy Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) are under the scanner of the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) of the Delhi government after they were found to have been in frequent conversation with an “RTI activist” arrested on Tuesday on charges of touting. The “RTI activist” had reportedly threatened to file RTIs against builders who were making illegal constructions in East, Northeast and South Delhi.

The accused, Anil Dutt Sharma (54) who is a resident of New Seelampur, was caught red-handed near the ‘Ex-Taj’ restaurant in Shahdara while accepting a bribe of Rs 1 lakh from the complainant, a builder. Sharma had reportedly been threatening the builder over some illegal construction work in East Rohtash Nagar, Shahdara.

“The accused (Sharma) was demanding a sum of Rs 1 lakh to allow the said construction work. Subsequently, it came to notice that the accused was not a government servant, but was accepting illegal gratification with a promise to influence the area’s MCD officials” a Delhi government release said.

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Sources in the ACB told Newsline that Sharma, who used to deal in motor parts, had become an “RTI activist” over the past two years. Posing as a JE or an RTI activist, he usually targetted builders carrying out illegal constructions in East, Northeast and South Delhi to extort money by threatening to file an RTI against them. On the other side, he would strike deals with MCD officials, offering them a cut to not take action against the builders carrying on illegal construction.

A source in the ACB said, “Sharma would first target the builder and extort money. Since he has several MCD officials as his contacts, he would tell them not to take action against the concerned builder. We are in the process of ascertaining how much he has made so far and what commission the officials took.”

Festive offer

Incidentally, sources said, he would also threaten the JE, saying he had their conversations recorded. Sources said the complainant approached the ACB last week, alleging that Sharma had already taken Rs 8 lakh from him and was asking for more. Accordingly, a trap was laid and Sharma was apprehended on Tuesday.

During questioning, Sharma told investigators that he was in regular touch with MCD officials, including JEs, a Deputy Commissioner and an Assistant Commissioner, and had taken audio and video recordings of them striking deals with him. Some of these recordings have been seized by the ACB from Sharma’s residence.

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Sources said Sharma has been remanded in custody for two days by a local court. While seeking the remand, ACB officials told the court that they had found contact details of a large number of MCD officials and certain recorded conversations which they needed to verify. The ACB also told the court that they needed to call in those officials and record their statements.

V Renganathan, ACB Chief said “Whether the accused is an RTI activist or he is a JE is a matter of investigation. He has been charged under Section 8 of the PoC Act and 419 and 120 B of the IPC”.

First uploaded on: 26-06-2014 at 02:17 IST
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