Guwahati: Prateek Hajela is now in trouble as two criminal cases were registered against him for his involvement in corruption cases to the tune of Rs 155 crore in updating the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
The Chief Judicial Magistrate of Kamrup Metro registered a case against former state NRC coordinator Prateek Hajela along with two other persons on April 12.
Simultaneously, the state Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Directorate also registered a suo moto case against the former state NRC coordinator.
“Why will I pay him if he does not want to work in Assam? If he takes VRS let him go. But when the police call him he has to come. We have referred this case to the Director of Economics and Vigilance. An FIR was already registered,” Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told a press conference here on April 12.
“VRS and investigation of the case are two separate things. What department I will offer him? It will be a victory for the Assamese people if he takes VRS,” Sarma added.
Hajela, who is a 1995-batch IAS officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre, was sent to Madhya Pradesh in 2019 following a Supreme Court order, as his life was under threat over the NRC issue.
Hajela recently moved the state personnel department for a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) and it is learnt he has already received a NOC from the Meghalaya government.
On April 12, the court of the CJM of Kamrup Metro registered a case (CR 7171/2023) against Hajela, WIPRO Ltd represented by its managing director Doddakannell and Integrated System Integrator and Services proprietor Utpal Hazarika for fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 155 crore from the state exchequer in the name of NRC updating process.
The court has registered the case based on a petition filed by a city businessman and filmmaker Luit Kumar Barman against city police for not registering an FIR against Prateek Hajela and two other individuals under sections 120(B), 420, 405, 409, 506, 34 and all other relevant sections of IPC and sections of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
In the petition, Barmana mentioned two key witnesses – retired IAS officer Hitesh Dev Sarma and Assam Public Works (APW) president Aabhijeet Sharma.
“It was revealed from the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on Social, Economic and General Sectors for the year 2020 that a huge amount of public money to the tune of Rs 155 crore has been siphoned off by the three accused persons collectively in the name of updating of NRC,” Barman alleged in the petition.
“To conduct updation of NRC, Prateek Hajela delivered the task of supplying of data entry operators (DEO) and software development to WIPRO Ltd without following any due process of transparent tendering. WIPRO, which has been engaged as system integrator (SI), further engaged Integrated System and Services (ISS) owned and managed by Utpal Hazarika for the updation process,” Barman alleged in the petition.
“It was found that the office of the state NRC coordinator was well aware of the fact that WIPRO sub-contracted the main task of updating NRC to a third party – ISS owner Utpal Hazarika violating the stipulated norms. As per Clause 4.24 and Clause 9.2, the System Integrator (SI) is not permitted to subcontract any activities related to system design and development, deployment and enhancement of NRC software solution, data centre operation and network integration with the data centre,” the petitioner said.
“In case of such subcontract, the System Integrator must obtain prior approval and clearance of the department for engaging all subcontractors. However, WIPRO subcontracted the contracts to the third party without following these rules at the behest of the state NRC coordinator,” the petitioner also alleged.
“WIPRO was paid Rs 14,500 per month DEO by the NRC authorities, but the DEOs got only Rs 5,500 per month during 2015-2019. Even DEOs were denied minimum wage as per the Minimum Wage Act,” he alleged.
As per a provisional audit, the Accountant General (AG) has observed that the difference in margins ranged from 45.59 to 64.22 per cent was exorbitant. An audit assessed that under the benefit of Rs 155.83 crore was allowed to WIPRO after allowing 10 per cent reasonable profit managed to the contractor, the petitioner further alleged.
“Undue Benefit to the tune of Rs 155.83 crore is a huge amount and is reasonable to suspect that kickbacks and money laundering must have occurred in the process. The complainant has minutely gone through the CAG report,” he said.
On October 19, 2022, the petitioner filed an FIR before the officer In-charge Paltan Bazar police station stating that WIPRO was given the task of supplying DEO for conducting the updation of the NRC programme.
During the NRC process, all citizens of Assam suffered everywhere as most of the government employees were engaged in the NRC process still they tolerated it with the hope that a true and final NRC will be published but in the name of the updation of the NRC process, there was mismanagement of fund more than 100 crores.
“After receiving the FIR, the OC neither registered it nor initiated any kind of enquiry against it. Finding no other way we sent a mail on March 17, 2023, to the commissioner of police Guwahati informing him in respect of non-registering the FIR of October 19, 2022, by the officer In-charge Paltan Bazaar police station. However the commissioner of police also neither took any action nor responded to the complainant,” he said.
“The present case before this court is a heinous corruption case involving a huge amount of public money amounting to the tune of Rs 155.83 crore committed in a very calculated and collective manner whereby the accused dishonestly misappropriated the huge amount of public money,” he also alleged.
“The non-registration of the FIR. create several doubts and integrity that have been vested upon the investigating agencies by the law of the land. We have doubts over the whole matter now as the complaint filed his complaint with full support corroborated by the CAG report and AG report but the case has not been registered for the best reasons known to them,” Barman alleged.
“We have the reason to believe that some powerful people are also involved in this case because of whom such rampant corruption in the society is going on for their vested interest and no action is taken only to protect the corrupted one,” Barman further alleged.
“The petitioner submitted that if the criminal conduct of the accused persons is not being scrutinized and punished following due process of law, such type of corruption couldn’t be stopped and public money will be misappropriated in such a way in future too,” he added.
Notably, earlier on May 19, 2022, then state NRC coordinator Hitesh Dev Sarma also lodged an FIR with the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which is yet to be registered by the investigation agency.
The second FIR was lodged on June 13 with the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption wing of the Assam Police. This FIR is also yet to be taken up.
In both complaints, Sarma said his predecessor had violated the Minimum Wages Act through Wipro, the system integrator (SI) that was given the task of supplying data entry operators for the NRC updating exercise. But while Wipro was paid ₹14,500-17,500 per data entry operator per month, the operators were paid only ₹5,500-9,100 every month from 2015 to 2019.
On November 26, 2020, Assam Public Works (APW) president Aabhijeet Sharma filed the first FIR against Hajela before the Directorate of Vigilance and anti Corruption.
The investigation agency initiated a preliminary investigation based on the allegations and forwarded to then chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal. But the file is nipped in the bud.
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The NRC exercise has virtually been in limbo since August 31, 2019, when the complete draft was published, leaving 19.06 lakh people out of 3.3 crore applicants for alleged lack of proper citizenship documents.
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