November 03, 2012

By A K Pande, Former DG, DRI

ON the anti-smuggling or preventive side, it is difficult to find a match for Shri M.L.Wadhawan, when it comes to consistent performance of a high order during the entire career. He had held many challenging posts, including that of Director General of Revenue Intelligence, for a record period of six years during eighties, and that of Collector of Customs (Preventive), Mumbai, earlier, during one of the most turbulent periods, when smuggling was at its peak and preventive detention law was introduced for the first time in 1975 and all leading smugglers were detained first under MISA and then COFEPOSA. He is credited with detection of some of the biggest cases of smuggling during his different tenures in DRI and preventive formations. He became synonymous with excellence in preventive work. His investigations always had that imprint of incisiveness and thoroughness. No one else has handled so many sensitive cases as he did in his career. He remained unflappable even in most difficult of situations, always principled and uncompromising in his integrity. He had his unmistakable impact.

When considering the achievements in the preventive field, one name which cannot be missed is that of Shri M.S.Mehta who rose to head the DRI from almost the grassroots level viz. Dy. Supdt of Central Excise and Salt - a cadre which passed into history long back. Yet he could match the best in the service He had worked for long years in Mumbai, including crucial stint in DRI there in its formative years, and as Collector of Customs (Preventive) He was the first occupant of that hot seat when the post, also known as CC(P) Bombay was created in 1971 or thereabout. His was an earthy genius. He knew the Mumbai underworld of sixties and early seventies, then dominated by the likes of Mastan, Galladhari brothers, Al Ghuriars, Karim Lala., Nenmal Punjaji Shah and Rajab Ali Khan etc, inside out. He had excellent network of informers and was a sharp investigator. He could deal with the gangsters and hard nuts in their own language, using at times choicest and quite colourful expletives.! (I would not recommend this trait of his to budding investigators. He had much else that could be emulated )But his real skill lay in compelling them to come out with truth, not by force, but by confronting them with intimate details of the gang and its activities. He had raw courage and was incorruptible. He was feared and admired by smuggling fraternity for both.

As a human being and a colleague he was endearing and lovable, with few equals. And once when no public transport was available because of Mumbai bandh or some such reason, he walked the distance from his residence at Wadala to New Custom House in Fort area ! I will never forget the sight of Shri Mehta walking bare feet in the 7th floor corridor of Drum Shape Building, leaving his sandal in his room, (he mostly wore sandals) peeping into my or some other officer's room, to inquire about some file or give some urgent instruction. That was his way of underscoring the urgency of a matter. He was informal but demanding when it came to results. As happens with such people, he trusted his subordinates, which trust at times was betrayed by unscrupulous elements.

I was privileged to work with both Shri Mehta and Shri Wadhawan when they headed the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence. The reputation of both remained unsullied throughout their career, despite handling assignments, where allegations and insinuations are not uncommon. Shri Mehta retired from DRI in 1979, as Director or DRI, as it was popularly called then, both the institution and its head having the same acronym! The institution was always something special, its units churning out masterpieces, the ne plus ultra, of detection and investigation, year after year. Shri Wadhawan retired in 1988 as Special Secretary and D. G., CEIB. after earlier serving as Member, CBEC.

It is with deep regret that I have to omit two names here. I could not include them earlier in my book also. I had debated the matter in my mind then, as I have done again now. The decision to omit them has not been easy. Both these officers were exceptional in preventive field. They had held crucial positions and their achievements were nothing short of fabulous. I did not have occasion to work with either of them. One was an ace investigator, the other a superb detector of smuggling cases. One was senior to me by about a decade and half and the other some years junior. The former could even have gone on to head the service. But their outstanding achievements were eclipsed by some flaws, which I refrain to specify, different in each case but fatal to their achievements, cutting at the root of the work and professional ethics, and thus leaving lurking doubts about their integrity. It is difficult to segregate the flaw from virtue in their cases. I do not wish to give any definite clues to identify them, though some may still try to make a guess. This veiled mention about them is for my own satisfaction, lest I remain at unease. For me they are tragic figures, with so much of talent and achievement gone waste and unsung. My endeavour here is to write about some admirable traits that I saw in people, ignoring their minor foibles. Taking the analogy of portraiture, an artist may notice warts in a face but omit to draw them if they are inconspicuous or unobtruding. He cannot be accused of being untruthful in such a case. .But to omit them if they eclipse the beauty of the profile or distort it, would be untruthful and misleading. . One can draw without warts or draw warts and all, so to say, as long as these don't distort the profile or detract from it. In these two cases unfortunately, they do. Hence this decision not to disclose their identity or elaborate their achievements.

A few words must be said here about the unique achievement of Shri Kailash Sethi as Narcotics Commisioner. By enforcing effective control over opium cultivation, not an easy task when powerful and vested interests are involved, and who have political patronage, he proved that there was suppression of production and pilferage. Production of licit opium reached levels, during his tenure never thought feasible earlier In fact, per hectare yield increased notably, while the area of cultivation decreased. This was a remarkable achievement. These efforts were appreciated by International Narcotics Control Board and UN Commission on Drugs. India, being one of the largest producers of licit opium, which is an important input in pharmaceutical industry world wide, is always under critical scrutiny of UN institutions and many a country, for any deflection of the produce to illicit channels, faced as the world is with problem of drug abuse. What he started, was cemented by his successor Ramesh Bhattacharjee. Some may have found their style of work at times quirky and at others exasperating. They could ruffle many a feather or abrade the sensibilities of people. One could say there was a method in that madness. They had something in them which makes a difference- courage and a will to succeed : Never say die.

I will be remiss in my effort, if I do not make a brief mention about some lady officers in the service. But let this segregation not be construed as a gender bias on my part. Some may feel that if they are equal to men and can match them, why mention them separately as a class. It is just to acknowledge that our service has not lagged behind, when it comes to achievements by its women. They proved from the very outset that they can match men in every aspect of work. The names being mentioned by me here too are only illustrative. At least a couple of names can be easily added. The first name that comes to my mind is that of Smt. Kaushalya Narayanan. As she entered the service in early fifties, the aspect of integrity need not even be mentioned in her case. She was knowledgeable, a gentlewoman and yet very effective and gave no hint that being a women had in any way handicapped her even in those days when very few women occupied important positions in services. She was perhaps the first lady to enter Indian Customs and Central Excise Service. If she had not died in that air accident in early seventies, in all likelihood, she could have gone on to head the service and the department would not have to wait for more than two decades for that to happen. She was a worthy predecessor of some able lady officers to follow. The second name which comes to mind, and who impressed me considerably, is Smt Varalakshmi Rajamanickkam, a 1960 batch officer and my senior by six years. She had her detractors too. My official relations started with her on a discordant note in 1971 when she was Asst. Collector of Central Excise, Pondicherry, and I was Asst Collector of Customs at Nagapattinam, with jurisdiction over half the coastal area of Tamil Nadu, from south of Mahabalipuram upto Arantangi and the corresponding districts in the interior. Our areas overlapped, though we were in different Collectorates. All the service muskets, lying in different offices, including some of hers, were required to be transferred to customs formations for anti-smuggling work. These muskets were more than hundred years old and were part of security outfit of the office. I was not sure if they would even fire or ammunition would be available for them But they were good enough for a show of force and as deterrent. My formations already had sufficient number of superior 303 rifles. But this did not matter in a turf war! I insisted that the muskets should be transferred to my customs formations She refused to part with muskets in her formations, saying that central excise officers were not barred from doing anti smuggling work and therefore the muskets were needed by them. The issue remained unresolved till both of us left on transfer ! I do not know what happened to those muskets ultimately. We happened to work together again in Gujarat, in late eighties, when she was Collector of Central Excise at Vadodara and I was Collector of Central Excise at Ahmedabad. She was the cadre controling authority for most of the staff in Gujarat. .We interacted on numerous occasions. We held each other's charges many times. I had occasion to see her function from close quarters. She impressed me as an able, effective and bold administrator, and someone who could enforce discipline. She was honest, very knowledgeable, decisive and efficient. She managed to keep the various office pendencies and arrears to the minimum, and the revenue buoyant, and always above target. The trade and the staff both felt her presence. She earned my respect, and I am sure, of many others too. It is a pity that, age not being in her favour, she had no chance to go further up and reach the top. She opted for CEGAT, as the Tribunal was then called, from there. Some other lady officers, who joined later, also fit in that mould. Some even have other distinct traits of their own. I am mentioning just one name here - Arusha Vasudev not because she fits into the mould. She does. But she also has that distinct and rare trait, - to stand by a colleague who is under attack falsely. It requires courage and conviction to do this. I set high store by this quality. Hence her mention here, though she is still in service. Incidentally, she is one of the two or three officers, and the only lady officer, to have headed two zonal units of DRI in two separate stints. .As Additional Director General, DRI, Bangalore, her first stint, she firmly stood by K. S. Bhatt, her Dy. Director. False allegations were leveled against him in a massive export fraud case detected by him, by an officer whose collusion in the fraud he had exposed. His frame up was done with such ingenuity and planning that the ignominy of being subjected to a CBI inquiry and search could not be avoided. It was unfortunate. Bhatt was no ordinary officer and had an illustrious career. She was unwavering in her support. Bhatt emerged clean and unscathed as expected but after having an agonizing time. The battle of the honest in their own defence, invariably turns out to be a lonely one. It requires guts to pull someone out of such fire. Those in a position to help or morally bound to do so, mostly choose to play safe, maintaining a distance, lest they are sucked into the raging fire. This invariably is the sad truth of the system. And those who are really involved in cases of graft, have many a supporter, both bureaucrats and politicians, perhaps their comrades in arm, who come to their rescue. As for her other traits, or other lady officers who fit into the mould but are still in service, let these be more appropriately appraised when they leave the stage.

Lastly, we must acknowledge the contribution of even the humblest member of the service. Group A officers have bigger stage available to them. As we go down the hierarchy, the stage available becomes smaller. The contribution made should therefore not be judged by the size of the stage, but by its intrinsic value to the system. The instance of brave Inspector Abraham, in Madurai Commissionerate comes to my mind. He was fearless in his battle against smugglers in Tamil Nadu coast. There were a few others too like him in that area. In fact every area has its Abrahams.There was Castao in Goa. He too was an Inspector. He is still in service. Then there was Bapu Laxman, a Jamadar in Mumbai Custom House.

As illustrated by the preceding cases, we have such people at all levels. DRI's head quarter, its zonal and subordinate units always had such officers, a blend of ability, courage and integrity. (It is very sad that its reputation got dented in recent months. The saying in Hindi goes –one bad fish can spoil the entire pond.) And the trend continues not only in DRI but elsewhere too. Let us hope and try that this trend never dies. And let it be a tradition to remember all who make a difference to the service by their specific contribution or their upright conduct. All of them perhaps cannot be remembered for all times to come. We do not know in what shape the service will be, what will be its direction, priorities and objectives, say fifty or a hundred years hence. But certain values, integrity and courage above all, will remain common and relevant to all generations. Each generation will have therefore done its bit, if it remembers such people from preceding generations, preferably, for the sake of objectivity, people who are no more in harness. People will come and go, remembered for sometime and then fading from the memory. But this way, the legacies and traditions will live on – perhaps as cherished values of a service or even the entire society.

Also See: They Left Their Mark

(Concluded)