Hats Off: Four metres of cloth, an almirah and IAS officer Rajni Sekhri Sibal

Rajni Sekhri Sibal

OFTEN you hear about stories of bureaucrats passively becoming a party to politicians’ loot for next election. Here is a contrarian take. This woman IAS officer from Haryana cadre first said a firm “no” to…
any bribery lure for changing the results of 3,200 Junior Basic Training (JBT) teachers in 1999-2000. When her transfer order came, she wrapped the steel almirah with the actual list of results lying inside, with four-metre-long cloth and bandages, making it impossible for anyone to open the almirah and temper with the list. Insiders say, her small act of wrapping the almirah was in fact a big step towards spotting a huge scandal. Now, former Haryana chief minister Om Prakash Chautala, his son Ajay Chautala and 51 others are in Tihar jail facing serious charges of corruption in what is now known as JBT Recruitment Scam. 
According to CBI which has been probing the case, Ms Rajni Sekhri Sibal was asked to change the award list by then political advisor to Haryana chief minister Sher Singh Badshami in presence of OSD Vidya Dhar, a promoted IAS officer, and OP Chautala’s son Ajay Chautala. She said “no”, and then recommended compilation of the results vide her note sheet dated June 20, 2000. She was transferred. During the investigation, Ms Sibal acted as a witness.
A December 4, 2003 an article "An unsung heroine" appeared in The Tribune said: “Mrs Sibal was so upset at the behaviour of the INLD functionary that she virtually cried. The same afternoon, the sources say, Mrs Sibal brought cotton bandages and sealed the steel almirah in the presence of five employees of her office. They all signed the bandages at several places. The keys of the almirah, too, were sealed in an envelope. A few days after the incident, Mr Sanjiv Kumar took over as the DPE.”
The article further said if Mrs Sibal had not sealed the almirah in a way that it could not have been broken, “Mr Sanjiv Kumar, the sources say, might have given in to the pressure”. “But he knew that tampering with the lists would land him in soup,” the article said.
Sanjiv Kumar, a 1985 batch IAS later turned a whistle-blower in the case but the Special CBI Court on Wednesday convicted him too along with 52 others.
A post graduate in psychology and economics, Ms Rajni Sekhri Sibal is a diploma holder in French. This 53-year-old officer was the Director General of Haryana Institute of Public Administration, Gurgaon, before joining as joint secretary in Union animal husbandry department on a Central deputation last year.

Action and Appointments
a) A 1980 batch Central Secretariat Service officer Ms S Narendra, who is currently a joint secretary in the ministry of road transport and highways, has been appointed as Joint Director General in Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). She is appointed till September 30, 2015, the day she retires, and is expected to play a key role in the civil aviation regulator. She will replace a 1985 batch MP cadre IAS officer Anil Srivastava who was appointed as joint secretary in the ministry of civil aviation on a lateral basis.
b) The ACC has approved appointing JB Mohapatra, a 1985 batch IRS-IT official as joint secretary and financial adviser in the Department of Electronics and IT.
c) The ACC has approved extension of additional charge of the post of secretary, National Disaster Management Authority to PG Dhar Chakraborty, a 1980 batch J&K cadre IAS who is currently Adviser, Inter-State Council Secretariat, for a period of three months or till a regular incumbent is appointed.
d) AK Gupta, a 1981 batch Kerala cadre IAS, has been appointed as Chief Vigilance Officer in the Mineral & Metal Trading Corporation (MMTC). According to the ACC order, Gupta "will have the option to draw his pay in the pay scale of joint secretary to Government of India plus deputation allowance, if admissible, or pay of the post.