Officers had put a detailed report about the money paid for food items bought for sale on train canteens
It wasn't a scam that it seemed at first sight. But a right to information response that put a price tag of Rs 972 on every 100 gram packet of curd bought by the Central Railway for its canteens last year has led to three officers being suspended from duty. They however, could return to their jobs if proven innocent after an investigation is carried out.
The officers had put together a detailed, 1200-page, response to an information activist Ajay Bose who wanted to know the money paid for food items bought for sale on trains and the Jan Ahaar canteens.
The railways initially didn't give him the information on his application filed last July. But he got his reply all right last month after he filed a complaint with the transparency watchdog in Delhi, the Central Information Commission.
According to this response, the railways bought a litre of refined oil for Rs 1,241 and a curd pack for Rs 942. But after news of the scam appeared in local media and Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu ordered an inquiry, the officials promptly got down to work.
It transpired, according to the central railway spokesperson Narendra Patil, that the officials had mixed up the numbers. For instance, in some cases, they reported the price for wholesale packets, 108 packs of curd, instead of an individual pack.
"For those errors, three of our commercial inspectors have been put under suspension and we will also conduct disciplinary inquiry against them" Mr Patil said.
At a Press briefing convened to clarify the situation, the railway's Chief Commercial Manager Shailendra Kumar said it was impossible for the committee that approves purchases to sanction such a price.
But Mr Bose isn't as convinced. He accused the railways of damage control and wants a CBI probe. Mr Kumar said there wasn't even a need for an internal inquiry on the purchases. "Everything is crystal clear," he said.