The complaint man

Rarely do people think of utilising their autumn years the way this 63-year-old man does. After retiring from his business, Pratap Singh devoted himself to the cause of the society, in a way that he gave nightmares to all the top officials who even issued an order to ignore his complaints, says NIDHI MITTAL

At his age, people either retire to a calm retreat spending time reading and gardening, or take to God Almighty in a big way. But 63-year-old Pratap Singh has decided to utilise the free years of his life in a way that would accord him a pedestal in other people’s lives. May be not for everyone because for the police and Government officials he is a major thorn in the flesh. Thus the tag — ‘complaint man’.Singh has filed some 2,500 complaints with not only the police but also Government departments, including the Home Ministry. The terror of this man in official circles, at one point of time, grew to such an extent that Delhi’s first woman chief secretary Shailja Chandra issued a circular to all the departments to ignore Pratap’s complaints.But nothing could deter Singh who has taken it upon himself to eradicate what he calls evils of the society — or at least bring them to light — and that includes exploitation of the poor. For those whom he has saved from land sharks and powerful Ministers, he is no less than a messiah.Shielding the farmers of Kishangarh village in Vasant Kunj, South Delhi, he made life so difficult for the culprits and corrupt cops that they framed an extortion case against him, claiming that he gave extortion calls to then Jt CP of southern range Satish Chandra. Not just that, he was also accused of going to the house of one of the land sharks and beating up his younger brother!That was in 2000. Though he was briefly arrested for the extortion case, it took the court no time to back his innocence and exonerate him. As for the other case, it is still pending.Though evils in society disturbed Pratap since his college days, when he loved sitting alone and reading for hours, his activism started in 1989 when an illiterate farmer Rai Singh came to him with folded hands. His 2.5 acre land had been grabbed by a UP MLA. The Minister tricked the poor farmer and took his thumb impression on a blank piece of paper.“I felt very bad and gave him some money. I registered a case and got him a lawyer also. Soon I started getting threat calls for standing up to the Minister. But I had no personal interest; it was the question of that farmer’s right. He eventually won the case and got his land back. It was then that it struck me that someone needs to stand up against such things, so why not me,” says Pratap from a fly-ridden self-contained room he has on the side of his sprawling property in Kishangarh.This was the beginning of an ordeal for lax officials. After Pratap retired from his business of making bricks, “but continued to pay income tax”, social activism became his life and breath. “I decided to make officials accountable for their corrupt ways,” says Pratap.Apart from the regular FIRs that he keeps registering, Pratap has filed 500 complaints with the DDA, 350 with the MCD, 340 with the revenue department and a similar number with other such departments besides the RTIs, which he terms as a revolution for the common man, “because at least the people with power are forced to answer.”Not even in one of the complaints has there been any personal gain for this 63-year-old. The under-construction Leela bridge on Jail Road at Vasant Kunj is a result of Singh’s efforts. He had been fighting for the widening of the road and building of a bridge to avoid accidents there for over five years now.The road was to be widened by 40m, but the land mafia had grabbed the area and opened a dhaba there. Illegal activities also started there, so he lodged a complaint on January 24, 2003. “At that time I didn't know that a judge was also involved. My complaint merely said that Jail Road was to be widened but had been grabbed by land mafia in nexus with the DDA. After multiple complaints on this issue, I finally received a letter from PWD in 2008, saying they would complete the bridge before the Commonwealth Games and the construction has begun,” Pratap tells you.He said, authorities killed time by making excuses like they were seeking permission from Supreme Court for cutting of trees because it’s the ridge area. Once when they got a go-ahead, they came up with an excuse that extra growth of trees had happened so they will have to seek permission afresh. “See how deep rooted corruption is. The PWD was looking for reasons to not do the needful.”Pratap makes it a point to file one complaint at many offices so that there are little chances of it to die down without coming to notice. He also files RTI applications for every case to get maximum proof.He has been blamed for targeting top officials, more so after he filed a complaint against PWD’s chief executive engineer over a road construction mess-up. “Can a low-lying clerk have the power to run such a big nexus? The top brass has to be involved when big money is involved,” he insists.In 2003, a Parliamentary Standing Committee of Home Affairs was constituted which called for suggestions and complaints from all departments. Pratap, seeing an opportunity, hurriedly sent all the corruption-related complaints with him. The committee sent them to the departments concerned, demanding answers.To evade answering, “because then all the top officials would have been behind bars”, the officials found a way to get rid of him, once and for all.A notice was issued on January 27, 2004, by Shailja Chandra alligating that “he is in a habit of filing complaints as a matter of routine and his complaints should be ignored.”But Singh was unstoppable. He filed another application questioning this order. “Why should I be scared of anyone? I only target people who are corrupt, irrespective of their status and power. Why would I have an interest if some unknown road were not being built? It’s only because I care and I am concerned as a responsible citizen that I raise my voice. Someone needs to rise above self-interest,” says Pratap.However, Pratap’s letter seeking a cancellation of this order was rejected. As a result, his task became even more difficult with officials now having sanction to not take time seriously.“I can’t sleep until I report anything wrong that I have seen happening. Once I have filed a complaint I can sleep peacefully, even if they don’t take an action. But I make it a point that I furnish enough proof to support my case. I also click related pictures,” Singh says.That is how he gathered the courage to question DDA on unauthorised constructions in Sector-5 of the DDA colony near Vasant Kunj. In an answer to his complaint, Pratap was told that Sector-5 did not exist! However, in the zonal maps and the master plan issued by DDA, Sector-5 is clearly marked.“They are denying something that is on their own map. Actually, there is a colony of illegal Bangladeshi migrants there. I then filed an application to know the number of Bangladeshis in the area. I was sent a letter saying there are no illegal migrants and that they are all Indian nationals, which is not true,” he said.Pratap’s other complaints have been against farmhouse parties and encroachment of water bodies.Call him the complaint man or a man of conviction, this astrologer by hobby knows how to make the best of his autumn days.

Main concerns
Widening of the Jail Road in Vasant Kunj and construction of the bridge.
ATR: The bridge will be built before the 2010 Commonwealth Games

Widening of the Mehrauli-Mahipalpur road with 40m wide green belt on both sides.
ATR: A new concept of ‘road over road’ established which doesn’t allow the widening

No demolition of unauthorised construction in Sector-5 of DDA colony near Vasant Kunj.
ATR:Letter sent saying sector-5 doesn’t exist, while DDA’s zonal map shows it

Grabbing of the road that goes to Chhattarpur from Qutab Minar by land mafia.
ATR:Court put a stay on all constructions around ridge area

Parties in farm houses.
ATR:No material response, but Delhi chief secretary banned Government officers from attending farm house parties

Thus they spake
Joginder (driver): Pratap bhaisaab is everything to me. He has seen me growing up. But apart from that it’s because of him that my family still has a reason to live. The land mafia had grabbed my plot of land in Najafgarh and when I informed the cops, they made me sit in the police station for the whole night. Then I went to bhaisaab who instantly informed the DCP, special cell. I have now got my land back, all thanks to him. He also gave us money to file the case in court. He is always so kind to poor people.

Bittoo (driver): Pratapji has helped me in my hardest times. He is a protector, just like God. I can’t say anything more about my problem.

Satish Chandra (Spl CP, Vigilance): I don’t know anything about this man or his complaints. (On being reminded that Pratap was accused for extortion by him) In that case, you would have all the facts, I have no knowledge of it.

Shailja Chandra (Executive Director, National Population Stabilisation Fund): Since it happened six years back, I can’t recall anything about Pratap Singh, though I have a faint recollection about a complaint about farm house parties. But it’s important to highlight such cases to show how unnecessary complaints add to the burden of paper work of the officials. This should be discouraged.

Published in The Pioneer on February 1, 2009