Internal surveillance unit to keep an eye on corrupt officials in Bihar

Patna: Ahead of Christmas and New Year, the home department of Bihar has set up an internal surveillance team to keep an eye on every police personnel and officer from the police post to the headquarter level to ensure that the liquor ban is successful.

The decision was taken during a meeting of the Bihar police, vigilance bureau and officials of the home ministry chaired by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar a few days ago.

Sources said that the liquor mafia was succeeding in their illegal operations due to the support of the police, excise and liquor prohibition department officials. The activities of the liquor mafia are expected to increase during the Christmas and New Year celebrations.

"The activities of individual officers will be monitored secretly by the internal surveillance team. It will also evaluate the results delivered by the officers. Such an initiative has been taken for the first time in Bihar," an official of the home department said.

The surveillance teams will observe the activities of individual officers, prepare a report and send it to the special vigilance bureau for action.

A raid was conducted by the special vigilance team at several properties of a SP rank officer of the liquor prohibition department on December 8 and property documents and Rs 94 lakh in cash were seized.

The officer named Avinash Prakash was posted as SP in the excise and liquor prohibition department in Motihari in East Champaran district.

During the raid, the sleuths detected 15 bank account numbers belonging to Prakash and his wife. Registry papers of three flats were also seized. Those three flats were registered in the name of his wife.

According to an official of the vigilance bureau, the officer allegedly has strong connections with the liquor mafia. The raid was conducted on the basis of a warrant issued by the special vigilance court in Patna.

An FIR under the Prevention of Corruption Act is already registered against Prakash in a vigilance police station in Patna.

"The internal surveillance team has already started work in every district of Bihar. It will intensify operations from December 15 to the first week of January."

The official said that the Panchayat election is ending on December 15 and the home department has made comprehensive plans to initiate massive operations against the liquor mafia. The liquor mafia apparently has strong links with police and liquor prohibition department officials.

"We are assuming that the demand for liquor will increase in the urban areas of Bihar during year end. We are keeping an eye on event organisers, hotels, banquet halls and farm houses of individuals. These places are ideal for organising liquor parties," the officer said.

Samrat Chaudhary, the Panchayati Raj minister in Bihar said: "Restricting the liquor mafia in the rural areas is an uphill task. Hence, we have decided to install 100 CCTV cameras in each village Panchayat of Bihar. The state has 8471 village Panchayats and all of them will be covered through the third eye."

"Our chief minister has made comprehensive plans for the urban and rural areas of the state. The activities of corrupt officers will be monitored by surveillance teams in every district and at the same time, the activities of the liquor mafia and police officers will be monitored through CCTV cameras at the village level," Chaudhary said.

"The CCTV cameras will be operated through a command centre which will be installed in district headquarters and it's feed will go directly to the central command centre in Patna," Chaudhary said.