IS THE IGP AND HIS SON ABOVE THE LAW By Aires Rodrigues

Writing has never been easy for me. But as long as I can, I will continue to write openly and fearlessly about what I feel. While penning these lines I have to candidly admit that it pains me to speak about the former IGP of Goa. I have personally known him to be a gentlemen and who was kind enough to grace my 50th birthday earlier this year with his presence.

Being a lawyer myself I would hate to believe that the law is an ass. But sadly the sequence of events narrated below would make one believe so.

On the night of 4th December 2009, the 18 year old son of Goa’s now retired IGP, Mr. K.D.Singh, decided to go for a ride. Siddharth Singh chose not to ride his bicycle but instead got behind the wheel of the brand new Toyota INOVA GA 0039, which had been allotted to his Papa, the then IGP of Goa. He, along with his teen-aged friends hailing from Goa’s political and elite society, were driving towards Vasco late that night to be at a night club and that too in an official government vehicle designated for the Inspector General of Police, when their vehicle crashed, damaging two electricity poles.

Fortunately for the teens, there were no fatalities. The mangled remains of that vehicle which was bought by the Government on 29th April 2009 for around 10 lakh rupees, lies unattended at the Toyota showroom at Verna, a stark reminder of that fateful night.

What followed is evidence of the gross abuse of power and influence. Initially, there was an attempt to make Mr. Mahesh Kumar Sharma, the official driver of the IGP, the scapegoat, by implicating him for giving the keys of the official vehicle to Siddharth.

Rather than investigating how Siddharth Singh was driving his father’s official vehicle without authorization, attempts were made to cover up the evidence of the case.

The Police Sub Inspector who initially investigated the case got an out of turn promotion as Police Inspector within 20 days of that accident. The Departmental promotion committee of which IGP KD Singh was a member met on 23rd December 2009 and approved the promotion of PSI Jivba Dalvi and the promotion order was issued the same day. PSI Dalvi was promoted despite his very colourful and controversial record with the Goa Police.

After a shoddy probe which was obviously a mere cover up, the police sought the opinion of the Director of Prosecution Mrs. Shobha Dhumaskar on the issue. The opinion was sought on 18th February 2010 and was promptly ready on 22nd February.

The six page legal opinion makes interesting reading at the end of which she suggests that the IGP’s son should not be charge sheeted. While commenting that the police investigation is not up to mark yet the Director of Prosecution strangely does not suggest further investigation in the matter. Surprisingly the Director of Prosecution in her opinion says that despite the heavy damage to the vehicle, there was no evidence of rash and negligent driving and that it would be difficult to prove the case against Sidharth Singh.

Government vehicles are not insured. In the event of an accident the damages are recovered from the driver or officer responsible. In this case where the fault squarely lies with the now retired IGP and his son, no steps have been taken to recover the financial loss inflicted on the State exchequer.

The whole episode clearly indicates how the law is not upheld when it comes to sheltering the rich and powerful. The accident was a gross misuse of authority, which resulted in heavy financial loss to the government, should have been a matter of concern to the investigating authorities.

The law should have been allowed to take its own course with the former IGP KD Singh who has now retired in Goa. It would also act as a deterrent to the kith and kin of government officers and Ministers to misuse of official vehicles.

Allowing the former IGP and his son scot free is serious enough for the High Court to take suo motu cognizance of this flagrant flouting of the law. It is however for the Honourable Bombay High Court at Goa to take a call.

All said and done I am glad that growing up, I was not a son of a powerful officer or a power intoxicated politician. I am happy that I was just a son of an Aam Aadmi, who would have allowed the authorities to discipline me if the need arose. And so will I continue, never breaching the law even if I am tempted to do so. I will even remember to wear my seatbelt to teach my kids to respect the law. And a helmet too just in case the former IGP’s kid comes crashing down on me!

(the writer can be contacted on 9822684372 or airesrodrigues@yahoo.com)