By Arun Pratap Singh
Rudrapur, 17 Aug: In Kashipur (District Udham Singh Nagar), the Vigilance team laid a trap for Assistant General Manager (AGM) UTC. The team caught the AGM in Uttarakhand Transport Corporation (UTC) Anil Kumar Saini red handed accepting a bribe from bus operators. Saini is posted in Kashipur Depot.
It has been claimed by the Vigilance team that the AGM was demanding money from private bus operators in exchange for operating the contract buses. After which a complaint was registered against the accused with the vigilance department. Seeing the seriousness of the matter, the vigilance team took immediate action and caught the roadways assistant general manager red handed while taking a bribe of Rs 9,000 per bus.
The complainant Manish Agarwal who is a bus operator of an approved bus said that the assistant general manager of Kashipur depot of Uttarakhand Transport Corporation used to demand bribe in exchange for determining the routes of his contracted buses and running them on time. He used to threaten the bus operators that their buses will not be allowed to run on various pretexts till bribe was paid to him. In case of not paying him the demanded bribe, Saini did not allow even the approved buses to operate under various pretexts, most common of which was unavailability of bus drivers. Sometimes, he used to even call back the bus conductors while on a trip. According to Manish Agarwal, he had submitted an application on 31 July seeking approval of his buses but Assistant General Manager Anil Saini had troubled him a lot.
The Complainant further claims that even when the bus conductor submitted a letter certifying the fine condition of the bus, Anil Saini used to tear the application. Aggarwal alleged that Anil Saini had demanded a bribe of Rs 9,000 per bus from him. Fed up with this, he complained about it to the Vigilance. After which, on the complaint, the Vigilance team caught the Assistant General Manager red-handed.
Vigilance CO Haldwani Anil Manral said that Assistant General Manager Anil Kumar Saini of Kashipur Depot of Uttarakhand Transport Corporation has been arrested red-handed while taking a bribe of Rs 9,000. The money was demanded in exchange for permission to operate the complainant’s contracted buses on time and on the profitable routes. The Assistant General Manager’s house is also being searched. He said that further action is being taken in the matter.
