January 22, 2025

A whole family has been sacrificed at the altar of corruption and the desire to live a luxurious life with ill- begotten wealth. Ex-bureaucrat B K Bansal, former Director General in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, committed suicide along with his son in Delhi today. His wife and daughter had similarly committed suicide in July when he was first arrested on corruption charges. Rs 60 lakhs in cash, papers relating to 20 properties and 60 bank accounts were found in a raid at his residence. He was arrested for demanding Rs 20 lakhs as bribe to overlook discrepancies in the affairs of a Mumbai-based pharma firm and had accepted Rs 9 lakhs as part payment.

It is sad that it had to end this way for the family. Corruption is rampant in government departments and most officers and their families do not have pangs of guilt or remorse even when they are caught. Perhaps the Bansals were made of softer stuff. Perhaps they had created an aura of righteousness around themselves which came crashing down due to the expose. Perhaps they were unable to digest the subsequent social taunts. There are too many perhaps here, but the fact is that four lives have been lost as the head of the family could not resist the temptation of easy money.

Often, family pressure is the main reason why people get corrupt. Once they become so, it is like the Chakravyhu. Like Abhimanyu, they do not know how to get out. Most do not want to get out too as the lure of easy money is a great aphrodisiac. But sometimes, people become corrupt just to fit in the system and do not listen to their family. We will never know which kind of corrupt B K Bansal was. We can also be certain that the tragedy is not going to make corrupt people mend their ways. But we are sure that corruption is an evil that is not only killing families but is killing the country too.