Probe on into ‘paid govt. agencies’

The police have started gathering details of private organisations that are suspected of functioning as government-supported units handling public grievances, to generate money. The move follows the recent exposure of a fake rights panel in the city which functioned in the name of the Kerala State Human Rights Commission and offered only paid mediation service.

Police sources said the parallel ‘service providers’ were found attracting clients by promising them quick service by bypassing all possible red-tapism and technical delays. They were also found creating a false impression that the paid service was legal and sourced by many to settle personal and professional disputes, the sources said.

Impersonating themselves as officials of the government’s rights panel was the usual trickery adopted by the operators of Kozhikode-based organisation for addressing private complaints related to government departments and functionaries. On many occasions, they had even tricked senior officers of government departments.

A police officer who was part of the recent investigation against the agency said there were many uninformed individuals who used the ‘paid service’ considering it as the official rights panel of the State government. “Many documents uncovering the details of such cases and the payment received have already been recovered. We are planning to expose more such illegal activities,” he said.

Based on confidential complaints, the police have also received information about the attempts of some of the organisations which canvassed people with an offer to easily claim benefits of government welfare schemes through paid service. According to police sources, such agencies collected the service charge with a claim that it was meant for supporting people who were in need of similar services.