Bengaluru: Cop seeks probe into 'interference' in Nirbhaya scheme tender process

Bengaluru: An undue illegal interference was allegedly made by impersonating as Home Secretary to the Karnataka government in the tender process to get access to classified information on the Rs 619-crore Safe City Project in Bengaluru under Nirbhaya scheme, an official said.

Bengaluru additional commissioner of police (admin), Hemant Nimbalkar has written to Chief Secretary T M Vijay Bhaskar, requesting him to initiate an inquiry into the matter. "I have requested (the Chief Secretary) to initiate an inquiry as to who has done that (impersonation). In my letter I have not pointed out to anybody," Nimbalkar told PTI. In the letter to Mr Bhaskar dated December 7, Nimbalkar said the Request For Proposal (RFP) for the selection of service provider for design, implementation and maintenance of Bengaluru Safe City project was under process. Nimbalkar wrote that he had a meeting with Akshay Singhal on December 2 who is the project management consultant for the project. Singhal sought to know about the email communication he had with Bengaluru police commissioner Kamal Pant on November 9 and asked the developments related to it. "The email communication attached herewith is self-explanatory and amounts to clear impersonation as Home Secretary to the Government of Karnataka for getting access to classified information with respect to the RFP in preparation for Safe City Project worth Rs 619 crore approx before publication of tender for wrongful gains without any lawful authority and locus standi," Nimbalkar wrote to the Chief Secretary. He added, "It also amounts to undue illegal interference in the tender process initiated by the Government of Karnataka by an unauthorised person." The police officer said the RFP mentioned in the mail attached was under preparation and was not published as on November 7, 2020, on the date of conversation. He requested the Chief Secretary to initiate an inquiry into the episode and further necessary action deemed fit as per law. The Ministry of Home in collaboration with the Ministry of Woman and Child Development is implementing the Safe City Project under the Nirbhaya funds to prevent and curb crimes against women and girls in public places. The scheme aims at providing safer urban infrastructure and efficient access to law enforcement agencies.PTI