Fire officer, vendor nabbed for their role in NOC racket
NOIDA: The fire station officer (FSO) of Phase 1 and a vendor supplying fire safety equipment have been arrested and at least 12 others are under investigation for allegedly obtaining no-objection certificates (NOCS) — a mandatory document to run public establishments — by bribing the fire department officials in at least seven separate cases registered at Sector 20 police station by the chief fire officer (CFO).
The cases were registered after an audio tape went viral on social media in which a vendor, Arvind Gupta, could be heard saying that Phase 1 FSO, Kuldeep Kumar Srivastava, took a bribe of ₹80,000 to issue an NOC to a private hospital in Sector 48.
Soon after the tape went viral Arun Kumar, CFO, wrote to the senior superintendent of police (SSP) office that one of the voices in the tape could be that of Srivastava and the matter should be investigated. A subsequent police probe and forensic analysis confirmed that the voice on the tape was indeed that of Srivastava, following which he and Gupta were arrested.
The CFO found that seven different ‘gangs’ were operating who were illegally procuring NOCS for hospitals, educational institutions, industries, etc. “The vendors were obtaining the NOCS on behalf of the owners making it illegal. Action will also be taken against any other people involved in such activities,” said Kumar.
Police suspect more than 450 NOCS have been obtained in this manner in the past at least one year. Fire department officials said that they will be investigated and appropriate action will be taken.
“For the past one and a half years, NOCS are being obtained online. The vendors would apply on behalf of the building owners. They will put in their own contact information with the address of the building. So any updates regarding the status of the NOC would be received by them,”said SSP, Vaibhav Krishna.
In case of discrepancies
› For the past one and a half years, NOCS are being obtained online. The vendors would apply on behalf of building owners. They would put in their own contact information with the address of the building. VAIBHAV KRISHNA, SSP, GB Nagar
› The vendors concerned were obtaining the NOCS on behalf of the owners, making it illegal. Action will also be taken against any other people involved in such activities. ARUN KUMAR, CFO
pointed out after inspection of the premises, the vendors would settle the matter with the FSO concerned by offering bribe concerned and, in turn, take money from the building owners, said a senior police officer. The vendors, selling fire safety equipment, would offer to get NOCS too on their behalf to lure customers, explained police officers, associated with the case. So far, no direct involvement of an owner of a premises has come out, the officers said.
Circle officer 1, Shwetabh Pandey, who investigated the Srivastava case said the two accused admitted on September 21 that it was their voices in the audio tape. When the NOC was checked, it was found that while the address of the building was accurate, the email id was that of Gupta’s office and the contact number was of one of his employees.
Police said Srivastava used his position for personal gains while Gupta had colluded with him to obtain the NOC illegally.
Police officials suspect that the nexus had been going on for a very long time but they are not sure as to how much money the accused may have minted or how much commission the vendors were taking. Certain facts are still being investigated, said police.
Officials said the crackdown may help bring transparency in the issuance of fire safety NOCS. “The applicant will now directly apply for them bringing transparency to the system. Action will be taken against anyone involved in these nefarious activities. More accused would be arrested soon,” said SSP Krishna.