Engineer Satyendra Dubey, an IIT Kanpur graduate (1994 batch) and a project engineer associated with National Highways Authority of India was gunned down by unknown assailents in Gaya (Bihar).Known to be an honest and upright officer, Er. Dubey was working with the Golden Quardilateral Project in the district of Gaya. He had written to the PMO about wrongdoings in the prime minister’s pet project. In his letter to the PM, Dubey had questioned the process of procurement of civil contractors for the Golden Quadrilateral Project saying it was ‘manipulated and hijacked’ by big contractors who submitted forged documents to justify their technical and financial capabilities to execute the project.The letter said the NHAI officials showed great hurry in giving mobilisation advance to selected contractors for financial consideration. Dubey also highlighted the problems of sub-contracting by the primary contractors.In another letter to the Project Director, NHAI, he had drawn the attention to some ‘irregularities’ committed by contractors and consultant for the project.

However, despite an explicit request to keep his identity a secret, PMO officials carelessly passed the letter among bureaucrats. Dubey had taken care not to sign his letters to the PM and NHAI chairman, he had appended his bio-data, which was leaked.

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several scams later …

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18th June 2009:

Yogendra Pandey, an Executive engineer in PWD, Department of Bihar was found dead, allegedly after a fall from the third floor roof of the Sitamarhi District Collectorate building on 18th June 2009. A “suicide note” was found with the deceased.

Er. Pandey, known to be another upright and honest officer, was under threat from the construction mafia after he refused to sanction the construction of substandard roads in his jurisdiction. He,after he was assaulted at his home, wrote to the Sitamarhi S.P. on May 26, 2008 (letter number 1282) seeking police cover. On August 27, 2008, the deputy secretary of the road construction department instructed the Sitamarhi DM to immediately provide security to the engineer. But the district police did not respond.

The sanction finally came after Pandey was actually assaulted, and the alleged attacker got bail using, as SP Chhatranil Singh cited, big legal connections. But the district police sat over the request until three days before Pandey’s death. No policeman was actually ever deployed to protect the engineer.

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So here goes another one. How many honest and upright officers are we going to loose before we wake up? If this remains the trend then who will ever dare to protest against the Neta-Mafia -Police nexus?

If we do not wake up and stand to protect the whistle blowers, will not the voice of truth be silenced forever?

For the rulers and the ruled of India, this is my question :

Satyendra Dubey http://www.rediff.com/news/dubey.htm

Yogendra Pandey http://www.indianexpress.com/news/questions-over-engineers-death/479590/