In response to a Right to Information query on why a special auditor from Nashik was transferred before he completed his term, the Cooperative, Marketing and Textile Department has stated that the decision was taken “under political pressure”.

Going one step further, the detailed reply says that the transfer of special auditor A M More, probing charges of corruption in the functioning of the Nashik District Cooperative Central (NDCC) Bank, was done on the insistence of Nashik MP and bank’s director Devidas Pingle, who is from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

“In this transfer case, there were many requests made, both in writing and orally, by local representatives. Based on this the transfer was considered,” states the reply, adding that the department is inundated by such requests everyday and is under pressure to oblige them.

Days after More was transferred, on February 17, Pandurang Bhau Karanjakar of the Brashtachar Nirmulan Samiti filed a request under the RTI Act, asking the cooperatives department why More had been transferred barely a year after he was appointed in the district. On March 16, Karanjakar received four pages from Information Officer D B Patil, including departmental notings on the matter.

More had moved to Nashik in 2004 and audited NDCC bank’s 2004-05 records. In his report, he had pointed out serious lapses in the functioning of the bank and highlighted alleged corruption. The report also made serious note of the bank’s inability to recover loans from certain individuals.

On February 4 this year, More was suddenly transferred to the Tribal Development Authority in Nashik, before he could complete his three year tenure.

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