Satyendra Dubey (IES Officer) - Exposing corruption - Murdered

Satyendra Dubey

Satyendra Dubey (1973–2003) was an Indian Engineering Service (IES) officer. He was the Project Director in the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) at Koderma. He was murdered in Gaya, Bihar after fighting corruption in the Golden Quadrilateral highway construction project.

Satyendra was the topper of the state in 10th and 12th board exams. He got admission to the Civil Engineering Department of IIT Kanpur in 1990 and graduated in 1994. Subsequently, he did his M. Tech (Civil Engg.) from IIT Varanasi  in 1996.

Professional life

After his masters, Satyendra joined the Indian Engineering Service (IES) and in July 2002, went on deputation to the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI). Dubey became the Project Director at Koderma, Jharkhand, responsible for managing a part of the Aurangabad-Barachatti section of National Highway 2 (The Grand Trunk Road). This highway was part of the Golden Quadrilateral (GQ) Corridor Project, the Prime Minister's initiative, which aimed to connect many of the country major cities by four-lane limited-access highways totalling 14,000 km, at an overall cost more than USD 10 billion. During this period, Dubey got the contractor of the project to suspend three of his engineers after exposing serious financial irregularities. At one point, he had the contractor rebuild six kilometres of under-quality road, a huge loss for the road contract mafia.

Exposing Corruption

The GQ project had strict controls to ensure that the construction work would be carried on by experienced firms with proper systems. A second independent contract was given for supervision of the project. However, Dubey discovered that the contracted firm, Larsen and Toubro, had been subcontracting the actual work to smaller low-technology groups, controlled by the local mafia. When he wrote to his boss, NHAI Project Director SK Soni, and to Brij Satish Kapoor, engineer overlooking the supervision, there was no action. 

According to the police's First Information Report (FIR) after his murder, Dubey had been facing several threats following his action against corruption at Koderma. A subsequent FIR filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) named both Soni and Kapoor. In August 2003 when he was transferred to Gaya, a transfer which he opposed since he felt that it did not serve the interests of NHAI. At Gaya, he exposed large-scale flouting of NHAI rules regarding sub-contracting and quality control. At this time he took a departmental test and was promoted as deputy general manager, which made him eligible to take charge as project director. Since there was no project director's post in Gaya, he was likely to be posted to Koderma soon. There was widespread sentiment (based on their pattern of operation), that the criminal nexus, opposed to having him as director, may have been behind his murder.

Letter to the Prime Minister

Meanwhile, faced with the possibility of high-level corruption within the NHAI, Dubey wrote directly to the Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, detailing the financial and contractual irregularities in the project. While the letter was not signed, he attached a separate bio-data so that the matter would be taken more seriously. Despite a direct request that his identity be kept secret and despite the letter's sensitive content, accusing some of Dubey's superiors, the letter along with bio-data was forwarded immediately to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. 

Dubey also sent the same letter to the Chairman of the NHAI. Soon Dubey received a reprimand: the vigilance office of NHAI officially cautioned Dubey for the impropriety of writing a letter directly to the Prime minister. In the process, through connections in the NHAI and the Ministry.

Sub: My representation about certain lapses in the implementation of National Highways Development Project. 

Hon'ble Sir,

I would like to draw your kind attention towards a representation on the above subject sent you by the undersigned. (The same representation was also sent to the Hon'ble PM).

The representaion sent to you was unsigned. Howver, the same was confirmed vide my letter dated 15.2.2003 after a letter to this effect was received from Vigilance Division of National Highways Authority of India.

The sole intention behind my representation was to extend posiitive contribution to the NHAI, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and the Nation as well, by highlighting grey areas purely with the purpose to institute remedial measures and thereby achieve optimum and desired output. I had no intentions whatsoever to malign any individual or for that matter any organization. In doing so I have made a sincere endeavour to carry out my duties as expected of every upright government officer.

I had enclosed my identity on a separate sheet so as to ensure secrecy and at the same time make any further contribution if asked upon to do so. It is however regretted to inform you that, due care has not been taken to maintain the secrecy of my identity and even the separate sheet containing my identity has been forwarded to the concerned authorities. As a result, my identity has been leaked.

Sir, you would appreciate that this disclosure has exposed me to undesirable pressures and threats. As a result, the undersigned, who took all this pain in order to make some positive contribution to the organization and the concerned project, has to adopt a defensive posture. I hereby express my serious concern over this. This is submitted for your kind information please.

Thanking you,

Yours Sincerely,
S K Dubey
Manager (Technical) NHAI
Koderma

The entire mobilisation advance of 10 per cent of contract value, which goes up to Rs 400 million (USD 10 million) in certain cases, are paid to contractors within a few weeks of award of work but there is little follow up to ensure that they are actually mobilised at the site with the same pace, and the result is that the advance remains lying with contractors or gets diverted to their other activities.

He was murdered.

Who ordered the murder?

It is possible that Dubey may have been the victim of a simple robbery during which Mantu Kumar shot him, as alleged in the case filed by CBI. 

However, given the death and disappearance of several witnesses and the startling escape of the prime accused, there is widespread speculation that vested interests may have engaged the criminals who actually pulled the trigger. 

As for the GQ project, the Supreme Court is currently overlooking investigations into the corruption charges initially raised by the Dubey letter. Several official have been indicted and a technical team is overseeing the actual construction. 

Also, as of September 2005, news reports indicated that the law ministry was about to introduce legislation to protect whistleblowers. 

Meanwhile, on 10 February 2006, a 600 meter stretch of the GQ highway connecting Kolkata to Chennai subsided into the ground, opening up ten meter gorges near Bally, West Bengal. This stretch had been executed as a joint venture between two Malaysian firms RBM and Pati, selected after global tendering.

PMO office during Atal Bihari Vajpayi was responsible for leaking Mr. Dubey’s identity hence Atal Bihari Vajpayi should have been held for the murder of Mr Dubey.

Conviction

More than six years after the murder, on March 22, 2010 Patna Court convicted three accused Mantu Kumar, Udai Kumar and Pinku Ravidas for murdering Dubey. 

The court convicted accused Mantu Kumar under Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 302 (Murder), 394 (Voluntary causing hurt in committing robbery) and 27 (A) Arms Act for possessing unlicensed weapon.

The other two accused were convicted under Section 302/34 (Murder committed in furtherance of common intention) and 394 IPC.

Awards and Fellowships dedicated to Satyendra Dubey

• Dubey's murder drew several protests in India and abroad, especially by the media. Student and Alumni bodies of IITs took the lead in raising this issue. 
• S. K. Dubey Foundation for Fight Against Corruption was founded in the US by Ashutosh Aman (IIT Kanpur, Satyendra's batchmate) and Atal Bansal (IIT Kanpur) to systematically fight against corruption.
• IIT Kanpur instituted an annual award in his name, Satyendra K Dubey Memorial Award, to be given to an IIT alumnus for displaying highest professional integrity in upholding human values.
• The Indian Express also announced a fellowship in the name of Dubey.

Institute for Research and Documentation in Social Sciences (IRDS), a Non-governmental organisation from Lucknow has been awarding the Satyendra Dubey award for civil services in reverence to his contributions to the cause of fighting corruption.

Awards given to Satyendra Dubey

• Whistleblower of the year award from the London-based Index on Censorship
• The Transparency International's Annual integrity award.

• The Service Excellence award from the All India Management Association.

• He was nominated for the Padma awards in 2011.

In Popular Media

• On 26 November 2007 NDTV aired a documentary by Mini Vaid on Satyendra Dubey, produced by Ashutosh Aman on behalf of the S K Dubey Foundation.

• Famous Indian musician Rabbi Shergill has dedicated one stanza in his song titled 'Bilqis (Jinhe Naaz Hai)' from album Avengi Ja Nahin to Satyendra Dubey. This song is a dedication to all those who died in vain or while supporting some cause (anti-corruption).

• Indian crime television series, Crime Patrol, dedicated their hundredth episode to Satyendra Dubey on 7 April 2012.

• His story was highlighted in the final episode of Satyamev Jayate.

• His story was shown in Savdhaan India of Life OK channel.

What happened recently?

The main suspect in the murder of Paulose Thomas, a Malayali engineer who was consultant for a project of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), has been absconding for over two months.

K. Elangovan was an accountant with Intercontinental Consultants and Technocrats Pvt. Ltd. (ICT), of which Mr. Thomas was an employee. Police have no leads as to the whereabouts of Mr. Elangovan, who disappeared on January 20, a couple of days after he was interrogated in connection with the murder. 

Mr. Thomas, a retired PWD engineer who hailed from Muvattupuzha, was team leader with ICT. The firm had been hired by the NHAI as consultants on the four and six-laning of the Salem-Ernakulam highway from Chengapalli near Tirupur to Walayar. ICT is monitoring the quality and progress of the nearly 1,000 crore BOT project of IVRCL Chengapalli Tollways Ltd. 

Mr. Thomas was found dead in his apartment in December 2012. Cardiac arrest was first thought to be the cause of death. However, suspicion arose after the deceased’s son Suraj Thomas, a surgeon in London, found ligature marks on the neck suggesting that he was murdered.

The police had also considered the possibility that Elangovan may have been killed.