Bhopal PHQ Closes 32-Year-Old Corruption Case Against Digvijaya Singh-Era Minister Dayal Singh Tumrachi

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The Police Headquarters (PHQ) has finally closed a corruption case against former minister and Tribal Congress leader Dayal Singh Tumrachi, 32 years after it was registered. Tumrachi, who had resigned from the Digvijaya Singh government following the allegations in 1994, died in July 2018.

Tumrachi, who was minister of state for forests and environment, had recommended the appointment of six people as forest guards.

When the request was turned down, two of them alleged in an affidavit that they had paid a middleman Rs 34,000 to get the jobs. The middleman - a police constable - in turn had told them that he had allegedly given the money to the minister.

Meanwhile, the original documents of the case had gone missing, thus blocking the process of closure of the case. Efforts to locate them were launched. But before they could succeed, Tumrachi passed away at a hospital in Bhopal in July 2018.

With Tumrachi dead and original documents missing, it was decided that there was no point in approaching a court to seek closure in the case. Ultimately, the case was closed by the PHQ this year, 32 years after it was registered.

A case caught in bureaucratic delays

In 1994, the Vigilance Branch of the Police Headquarters (PHQ) registered Case No. 01/94 against Tumrachi and police constable JP Jaiswal, who allegedly acted as a middleman.

Jaiswal was charged under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 9 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, while Tumrachi was charged under Section 120B of the IPC and Section 13(1) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Two years later, on Feb 15, 1996, the PHQ wrote to the state government, requesting that the case be brought to the notice of the chief minister and home minister. It also sought 'guidance' on how to proceed with the matter.

The government took six years to reply to the request. On Feb 25, 2002, SB Shrivastava, under secretary in the Home Department, wrote to the PHQ demanding all original documents related to the case so that a decision could be taken in the matter.

The original documents, running into 58 pages, were dispatched to the under secretary by the then DIG of the Vigilance Branch on March 2, 2002.

There was no response from the government for eight years after that. Meanwhile, the PHQ reached the conclusion that there was not enough evidence on record to prosecute Tumrachi. On Oct 19, 2010, the PHQ wrote to the home department seeking permission to close the case.

The home department sat on the communication for two years. On Feb 25, 2012, it wrote to the PHQ saying that it agreed with the proposal, and the files kept moving between the PHQ and the home department. After the death of the minister and with no proper evidence in the case, the case has now been closed.