The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has suspended 17 of its employees over allegations of corruption and ?unethical behaviour? following sting operations conducted by a contractor on NDMC officials over a period of two years.
The contractor is reported to have forwarded two CDs of footage of the sting operations to the Vigilance department, identifying the accused officials. The Vigilance department brought the case to the notice of NDMC chairperson Jalaj Shrivastava, following which the employees were suspended.
Speaking to Newsline, Shrivastava said, ?Ostensibly, there is some unethical behaviour shown in the footage. However, if there is any substantial evidence against anyone, we will take strict action against them.?
He said most of the suspended employees are low-ranking officials and the senior-most officer is an assistant engineer. All the accused are reported to be from the civil department of the NDMC.
The NDMC has also sent the CDs for specific forensic investigation to ascertain whether the tapes, containing audio and video content, have been doctored to make a case against these officials as some parts of the tape do not have clear audio. Those identified in the video have been suspended pending investigation and subsequent disciplinary action.
The chairperson said he was not aware of the identity of the complainant or whether there was more footage concerning officials of the NDMC. Some other officials of the NDMC are also being probed in this connection.
