On Sunday Deputy Executive Engineer of Roads and Buildings (Electrical Sub Division) Subhas Chandra Patro was arrested by the Central Investigation Unit (CIU) of Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) for amassing wealth disproportionate to his known sources of income.
The ACB team led by DSP Ramadevi conducted raids at five places in three districts and unearthed assets worth to the tune of over Rs. 4.5 crore. But apart from the wealth which includes huge quantity of cash, land documents and gold, the ACB team had found something different. They seized about 65 bedrolls of the Indian Railways, which the officer had picked up from the trains while travelling in air-conditioned coaches.
According to Ms. Ramadevi, the authorities concerned in the railways have been notified and now it is up to them to book a separate case and proceed against the officer.
Former Superintendent of the Government Hospital for Mental Care, Visakhapatnam, N.N. Raju said it was a clear case of kleptomania.
According to the professor, a person is said to be kleptomaniac when he or she is unable to refrain from the urge to steal items and usually does for reasons other than personal use or financial gain. It is a personality disorder and it may be imbibed by a person from any age group or from any strata of society.
A couple of months ago, the Deputy Superintendent of Police of the Armed Reserve Police wing Prakruthi Appa Rao was convicted to two years of rigorous imprisonment and slapped a fine of Rs1,500, when he was caught picking up electronic gadgets from co-passengers in trains.
He had a penchant for lifting laptops and cell phones of passengers, especially if they belonged to important people. His victims include former speaker D. Sripada Rao and IG R.P. Meena.
According to Assistant public prosecutor Botcha Prameela, the police officer craved to pick up electronic items of important people and was a kleptomaniac.
Prof. Raju said the main difference between thieves and kleptomaniacs was the attitude. “Most of the thieves have a sense of guilt after committing a crime. In the case of kleptomaniacs, they develop some kind of pleasure with each case,” he told The Hindu .
