The Flat Rate

"Forget senior officers, even police inspectors are in league with the underworld—the policemen do them favours in return for property," I was told by a serving top-level police officer. In Pasricha's case, he, along with other IPS and IAS officers, was sold a flat in a cooperative society, the land of which was given virtually free by the government. They only had to pay for the cost of construction. In other words, flats now worth several crores were sold to them for a lakh or two. The stipulation that these flats could not be resold was later done away with. Politicians and judges—journalists as well, I am sorry to say—have got flats in a similar fashion.