Corrupt officer or innocent? The jury is divided

By Sujeet Kumar

Raipur, June 1, 2011 (IANS) The man alleged to be one of India's richest and most corrupt bureaucrats is not only still in service with the Chhattisgarh government but insists he is innocent.

Babulal Agrawal, a 1988 IAS officer of the Chhattisgarh cadre, dismisses with contempt media reports that he has piled up a mind-boggling amount of illegally earned money.

A Masters in Political Science who is Secretary for Cooperatives in the state, Agrawal said the Income Tax department was wrongly clubbing his and his family's wealth.

"I belong to a business family. How can the IT department club the assets of my family members with mine?" an indignant Agrawal asked IANS, irritated by questions on his career and wealth.

"My brother, father and other (family) members, all have separate business activities since a long time. You can't show their income in my name. I will fight it out," he added.

There is no official word on how much assets Agrawal holds.

According to published reports which the government has not denied, these are estimated at a whopping Rs.253 crore.

Born in famine-prone Kalahandi in Orissa, the premises of the 45-year-old Agrawal and that of his chartered accountant were raided by the Income Tax department in February last year.

Agrawal was then secretary of the state's agriculture department.

Media reports attributed to unnamed official sources have alleged that he operated 473 bank accounts and had floated 30 companies over the past 11 years. The Bhopal-based IT office recently submitted a 5,000-page report to the Chhattisgarh government regarding the IAS officer.

Chhattisgarh's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government suspended him from the post after the raid but reinstated him after a few weeks. The government has not said why it called back an officer supposedly suspended for corruption.

True or not, the supposed IT report against the officer, who often makes foreign trips, is the talk of the town. This, Raipur residents say, is but natural considering the mounting mass anger against corruption nationwide.

It may have nothing to do with Agrawal but central Law Minister M. Veerappa Moily said during a visit to the state in March: "Chhattisgarh is the most corrupt place in the country."

Official sources say the IT report has referred to the rise of Agrawal, whose first posting was in 1988 as assistant collector of Khargone district in undivided Madhya Pradesh.

Agrawal calls the IT report "baseless" but is not ready to reveal what it says.

"The IT raid in February 2010 had found some Rs.8 lakh from my residence. It was all tax paid money," Agrawal told IANS.

"Newsmen should avoid conducting media trial on the issue because it's a sub-judice matter. I have moved the Chhattisgarh High Court against the report."

Chhattisgarh's Chief Secretary P. Joy Oommen is equally cautious on the issue, not willing to say anything that could go against or in favour of Agrawal.

"The whole issue of the IT raid and report has been sent to the Economic Offences Wing (of the state government) for its own investigation," Oommen told IANS.

"Action can be taken only after a final report of the Economic Offences Wing is received."

In the past 11 years, Agrawal held offices ranging from that of Collector in Durg and Rajnandgaon districts to Secretary in the health and agriculture departments of the Chhattisgarh government.

Despite all the adverse publicity, Agrawal has his share of admirers.

Some senior officials here recall his contribution to effectively executing key government schemes in Sehore district of Madhya Pradesh in 1995 when he was the Collector.

(Sujeet Kumar can be contacted at sujeet.k@ians.in)