Scribbles on files expose Gurugram bribery scam

In a cavernous room on the fifth floor of the glass-façade Gurugram police commissionerate on September 15, two investigators pored over a mountain of papers, seized from the Gurugram Regional Transport Authority (RTA).

- Leena Dhankhar and Debashish Karmakar

Stacked on the table in front of them, the pile contained troves of mundane registration data on commercial vehicles that form the lifeline of the city's 1.5 million people. Yet, the covers of eight files caught their eye. On these were scribbled seemingly innocuous phrases "8", "AM" and "PM" - sometimes in bold, sometimes circled.

Puzzled, the officers dug into these files, from which emerged an intricate pattern holding the key to an elaborate three-yearlong nexus between touts and officers of RTA who allegedly took bribes for clearing files related to the registration and permits of new commercial vehicles and fitness checks of trucks and vans. These files were brought in and submitted by touts who marked them with codes to indicate the quantum of the bribe sought.

"If '8' was written on a file, it meant the tout would collect 26,000 from the applicant. Likewise, 'AM' scribbled on the file cover meant 2,000, and 'PM' translated to 4,000- all to be collected by the tout from an applicant," said a Gurugram Police officer, requesting anonymity.

The racket was busted after a raid by Haryana chief minister's flying squad and the Gurugram Police on September 13. In all, the officers and touts swindl ₹5 crore from applicants, said the police. "Hundreds of files a day, marked with code words, would reach the RTA official. After clearing the files every day, the official would tally how many '8', 'AM' and 'PM' files made it to him. That told him how much money he made that day. The calculation was done at the end of each day and month. The touts were given a salary and incentives," said a second Gurugram Police officer, who also wished not to be named.