The busting of a racket in stealing confidential official documents from the Oil ministry and selling them to energy consultants and large private companies has shown the shocking nexus between corporates and lower –level ministerial staff. If there were higher officials and higher-level corporates involved it would apparently be clear only after sustained interrogation of those arrested. That a business journalist was also a key part of the racket adds a new dimension to it. Of the seven arrests made so far, former journalist Santanu Saikia was arrested for allegedly working as a middleman between employees in the ministry who stole the documents and the corporates which bought them, according to the police.
Shockingly, some people were “trespassing” into ministry offices at night, using false identity cards, temporary passes and duplicate keys for officials’ offices. They were stealing classified files, photocopying them before restoring some of them to their original place. The business journalist was being used to interpret the data and the information after which the sale was taking place, sometimes even beyond Indian shores.
The New Delhi police which is tight-lipped on how long the racket was on is hinting that it may have been on for years, encompassing the UPA years and the eight months of NDA rule. A few months ago at the behest of Prime Minister Modi CCTV cameras were installed which led to the police unearthing the racket and catching the carriers after a watch was kept.
Clearly, the checks in ministries are inadequate and the deterrence against such thieves woefully lacking. Years ago, a fairly senior official of Reliance was arrested on charges of acquiring sensitive documents but nothing ultimately was heard of the case. This time around, however, this must not happen. The case must be taken to its logical conclusion and no one should be shielded from the consequences of uninfluenced prosecution.
The punishment must be swift and effective because this is no small matter; it involves state secrets which can contribute to unfair advantage to the companies that organize and/or abet the leaks and rob the national exchequer of crucial income. In the current case it is commercial information that had leaked but this could well he happening in other ministries too where sensitive information is stored. The government must not be complacent at all.
