Conflict of interest: Pvt company that got killer hoarding contract paid fees of legal firm whose opinion was sought by Railway Police

A police officer part of the probe said, “When we questioned GRP officials on why they said that Railway rules would apply for the fourth hoarding, and not BMC rules, they told us that the same was conveyed to them by their own legal officer along with two other external legal entities whose opinion they sought in June 2021. Ironically, we found that the payment for fees to one of the external legal entities that gave a favourable report, was made by Ego Media, instead of GRP, which sought their services. This prima facie indicates conflict of interest.”

“We have found that the Ego Media paid Rs 30,000 to the legal firm, after which they submitted a report to the GRP on June 21, 2021, saying that BMC rules will not apply,” the officer said.

According to the official, even in the past, Ego media had made payments to the legal firm 17-18 times for earlier assignments. “We also have statements to corroborate that Rs 30,000 was paid for the GRP report, for which the GRP did not pay,” the officer added.

The GRP sought legal opinion when they were deciding on the application seeking permission for erecting the fourth hoarding — which collapsed, as the previous commissioner  asked Ego Media to take BMC permission for its earlier hoardings.