RTI Activist Unearths Scam Of Rs 210 Crore, Delhi Police Declares Him Insane & His Son Dead

We have often heard how people who dare to speak against the powerful or dig into corruption are harassed. Different mechanisms are used to silence them. This time Delhi police have declared an RTI Activist Harpal Rana mentally ill owing to the loss of his son. But his son is still alive.

Harpal Rana must have been aware that his path is not going to be easy when he discovered the scam by Delhi Police. As per an RTI filed by Harpal Rana, a resident of Kadipur village, UP, between 2010 to 2017 Delhi police bought 3,309 CCTV Cameras at the cost of Rs 227 crore. These cameras have been installed in 67 places. This means that the Delhi police bought each camera at an exorbitant price of Rs 6 Lakh. But in reality, the total price of the cameras should have been Rs 15-17 crore.

Harpal Rana wrote to the Prime Minister’s Office on PMO portal on 8 April 2016, informing them of the corruption but the case was closed on 30 June 2016 based on a report by Delhi Police. He recently saw the report and discovered that it said, “Harpal Rana is mentally ill owing to the loss of his son.’’

Both Harpal Rana and his son Akhil Rana are disappointed and angry with the response. Harpal Rana in an interview with NDTV said, “I have been declared mentally ill. My son has been declared dead. I am very sad and have complained about it’’.

The Logical Indian spoke to Harpal Rana and he said that Delhi police have said that they are going to investigate into the matter of him being mad and his son being declared dead. He further added that he is not aware if any investigation is going to happen on the scam or not and there is no communication from PMO in this regard.

The Logical Indian take

Instead of involving in frivolous act, the Delhi police should have investigated into the matter and tried to punish the personnel involved. Also, the PMO should have taken cognizance of the matter and checked the veracity of both the police’s claims and their corruption.

It also raises questions on govt claim of resolving complaints on PMO portal. The RTI activist filed his complaint there and PMO reached out to police for their version and then closed the case just based on their reply without verifying the details.