Under graft cloud, DRDO warns whistleblower scientist

A whistleblower, former DRDO scientist, has been warned by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) that his pension could be in jeopardy if he does not desist from writing “frivolous and malicious allegations” to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

In another case, the DRDO has issued a notice to a serving scientist for allegedly bypassing the prescribed channel of communication and directly writing to Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and the PMO about an ongoing corruption probe carried out by the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) against another senior scientist nominated for a coveted award.

In the first case, the DRDO, in a letter to whistleblower Prabhu Dandriyal, who left the organisation in 2003 and runs a website, said the allegations reported by him to the Public Grievances website were “frivolous”. “You are hereby warned to desist from posting frivolous and malicious allegations against the organisation and/or its personnel on website, in contravention of Rule 8 of the CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972,” the DRDO said. 

Rule 8 of the Pension Rules <g data-gr-id="19">says</g> “Pension subject to future good conduct”.  “I have been writing to expose the corruption in the DRDO and now they have threatened to take away my pension. I have written to PM Narendra Modi donating my pension to the PM’s relief fund,” Dandriyal said.

In the other case, a serving senior scientist of its Nasik laboratory has been served a notice by DRDO. DRDO headquarters cited strict compliance of Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha’s instructions issued in August that writing directly to the PMO, in violation of a prescribed channel of communication, has to be viewed seriously and is liable for appropriate disciplinary action.