THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Throwing light on corrupt practices prevailing in the police, an IPS officer has written a letter to the State Police Chief on the irregularities prevailing in the functioning of the police canteens in the state.
The letter written by Jayanath J, Commandant of KAP Battalion III, Adoor, pointed out that irregularities to the tune of Rs 43 lakh were detected in the Subsidiary Central Police Canteen there. The letter, sent on January 4, said Rs 43 lakh was spent during 2018-19 on buying commodities that did not stand a chance of being sold.
The letter also said products worth Rs 11.5 lakh purchased during 2018-19 had gone missing from the canteen. Unaccounted products worth Rs 2.24 lakh were recovered from the canteen, the letter pointed out.
As per the letter, the integrity of some staff members of the canteen is questionable. One of the daily wage staffer, who is a relative of a policeman, was found to be working on behalf of the companies that supply goods to the canteen. “He has also been receiving salary from them,” the letter said.
The letter also pointed out lapses in the functioning of the Police Headquarters. The IPS officer alleged that the purchase of unsalable goods was done as per the instructions given on WhatsApp by a woman employee in the Police Headquarters. The manager of the battalion had also pointed out corruption pertaining to the construction of the canteen.
All these matters were conveyed to the Police Headquarters, but no measures were taken to punish the culprits, the letter read. Jayanath also said an external agency should be roped in to probe the matter. “ Adoor canteen is a small one, recording an annual sale of Rs 15-20 crore. If these many irregularities are
spotted in such a place, it can be assumed that corruption was rife in other canteens too.”
The letter also recommended handing over the canteen auditing to the CAG and fixing a two-years cap on those who are running the canteens. This cap should be made mandatory from the shop floors to the Police Headquarters, the letter said.