You are posted as the Superintendent of Police (SP) in a district of a state where alcohol prohibition has been imposed recently. The District Excise department has conducted many raids and seized liquor in large quantities, for which it has received state-wide public appreciation. A few months later reports surface in the media that in this district, hundreds of seized bottles of illicit liquor are missing from the government malkhanas or stores. As a result, the government is left red-faced. You are asked by the DM, who is the overall in-charge of the district excise setup, to investigate the matter. Upon investigation, you unearth a nexus of politicians and government officials who smuggled seized liquor and sold it through spurious means both inside and outside the state. In this context, evaluate these options: 1. Report your findings to the DM and seek instructions for further actions, stating clearly the criminal offences committed prima facie. 2. Charge all accused under legal provisions and let the law take its own course. 3. Being aware of the seriousness of the matter, discretely put the detailed investigation report in the public domain and expose the nexus. Also, suggest, without restricting yourself to the given options, the final course of action that you would prefer.

(1). Option 1: Report the findings to DM and seek further actions, stating clearly the criminal offences committed prima facie.

Merit : As this work was given by District Magistrate ;and since he/she is also overall in-charge of the district excise setup, it make sense to report the findings first to the DM.

Demerit :- There may be nexus between DM and politicians. Also more deeper investigation may be required Seeking further actions from DM , when the criminal offence is established can affect further investigation.

SP has enough power to conduct an investigation independently . He/she is not bound by the order of a DM.

(2) Option 2 : charge all accused under legal provisions and let the law take its own course.

Merit :- It will ensure that noone can escape the justice. Demerit - Not informing DM , may not be a good step.

Also leaving everything on the law is like running away from my responsibility.

(3) Option 3 : Put detailed investigation in Public and expose the nexus.

Merit - since government is there to serve society, people needs to know. will bring transparency and reinforce accountability.

Demerit - Make hamper the image of government & administration in the eyes of people. May lead to media trial instead of free & fair trial. Further , the trust of public in administration will get eroded which is very difficult to build back & win the trust.

My course of Action :-

(1) Report to DM , as the work was assigned through him. (2) charging all the accused under legal provisions (3) Ensuring that any further requirement of the case is fulfilled (4) co-operation in legal proceedings