MUMBAI: Government officers have raised a unique demand before Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde saying if they are caught in a trap while taking bribe, their names and photographs should not be revealed till they are convicted in a court of law.
Maharashtra Adhikari Sangathan (Maharashtra Officers Association) writes to Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde asking that when government employees get caught for bribe of even Rs 100, his/her name and photograph gets published in the newspapers and establish him/her as a bribe-taker before the crime is proved in court.
“Some of these are traps to frame a government employee and tarnish his/her image. When the matter goes in court and he or she doesn’t not get convicted due to lack of evidence or proof. But the government and his family suffer a lot. This should be stopped. Therefore, we kindly request you once a government employee is caught for allegedly taking bribe case, his name and photograph should not be given to newspapers for publiations,” stated in the letter.
The letter further reads that as per the past records of the bribe cases, the conviction ratio is not good. “In the alleged bribery cases, out of approximately 100 cases, hardly one or two per cent see establishment of the charges against the accused. While 99 per cent government employees suffer without any fault,” reads the letter.
Senior government officials said that once the name of the government appears in an alleged bribery case, he or she starts facing stigma.“The charges are yet get proved but the society starts boycotting him and his family. Many a time they treat him as criminal. This is not good. We are defending the person who has done the crime. But what about those people who are innocent? The innocent employees who are framed in wrong charges should not suffer,” the letter asks chief minister.
‘Even Rs 100 tarnish image’
Maharashtra Adhikari Sangathan writes to Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde asking that when government employees get caught for bribe of even Rs 100, his/her name and photograph gets published in the newspapers and establish him/her as a bribe-taker before the crime is proved in court