At a time when the country is debating job losses due to slowing GDP growth, a resourceful man has allegedly managed to land, and keep, not one but three government jobs. He is currently under investigation for fraud.
In March 2016, Gopal Balmiki, an employee of the Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT), who had been promoted twice during 16 years of his service, went on a six-day casual leave. Soon after, he sent his resignation. That was the last that anyone in KoPT saw of him.
While attempts were still on to trace him, the KoPT received a letter from one Ravi Balmiki on September 5, 2016, alleging that the man held another job in the Defence Ministry. A vigilance case was instituted a day later, and what followed was a series of revelations that culminated in the registration of a case by the CBI. It transpired that Gopal was actually Bhopal Balmiki, who was already employed with the Defence Ministry’s Bengal Headquarters when he got a job with the KoPT as ‘Gopal’. An inquiry with the Station Cell, Headquarters Bengal Area of the Defence Ministry, revealed that the photograph of Bhopal Balmiki bore a striking resemblance to Gopal’s photograph in the KoPT records.
Both Gopal and Bhopal were found to have the same father’s name. Their permanent addresses were also identical. “Of course, there is a theoretical possibility that both the Balmikis are identical twins of the same parents,” noted the report, adding that the strong resemblance in the photographs, identical father’s name, and same permanent address in the appointment files of two different organisations were a clear indication that Bhopal Balmiki, working in the Defence Ministry, and Gopal Balmiki, working in the KoPT, were one and the same person. Just when the vigilance inquiry was to be concluded, the department received information about the existence of another Gopal Balmiki, who had retired from the BSNL in December 2016. The vigilance report noted that had the KoPT accepted his resignation, he would have succeeded in getting all retirement benefits despite the strong possibility of having committed a fraud.
