News Analysis India

Tag: IPS officer

  • Ex-IPS Amitabh Thakur held for abetment to suicide of rape survivor

    Express News Service

    LUCKNOW: IPS officer Amitabh Thakur, compulsorily retired early this year, was arrested by the Lucknow Police on Friday in connection with the self-immolation case outside the Supreme Court by a rape survivor and her companion a fortnight ago.

    Before immolating themselves, the two had named jailed BSP MP Atul Rai and Thakur among others for harassing them and conspiring to defame them on social media.

    While taking the extreme step, the victim and her companion had live-streamed a video message on social media accusing BSP MP Atul Rai, then Varanasi SSP Amit Pathak, former IG Amitabh Thakur, and other police and judicial officers of harassing them and forcing them to commit suicide. The video was considered as the dying declaration by the investigation team.

    After the incident, the state government had constituted a two-member special investigating team (SIT) headed by UP Police Recruitment & Promotion Board (UPPRPB) RK Vishwakarma and Additional Director General (ADG) Women Power Line 1090 (WPL) Neera Rawat to probe into the allegations levelled by the rape survivor against the cops. Both the rape survivor and her companion succumbed to burn injuries at a Delhi hospital recently.

    ALSO READ | Three-month-old girl raped by minor boy in Uttar Pradesh’s Etah

    Following the investigation, the Lucknow police had lodged a case of abetment to suicide against the jailed MP Atul Rai and former IG Amitabh Thakur on Friday on the instructions of the Uttar Pradesh Director General of police, Mukul Goel. The DGP was ordered to lodge the FIR against Thakur on the basis of the probe report submitted to him by the two-member SIT.

    After registering the FIR at Hazaratganj police station, Thakur was arrested in the state capital. Earlier in the day, however, Amitabh Thakur announced that he had floated his own political outfit ‘Adhikar Sena’.

    In March this year, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) had directed Thakur to take an exit from Indian Police Services (IPS) through Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) finding him unsuitable for the job.

    The FIR was lodged by senior sub-inspector Daya Shankar Dwivedi posted at Hazratganj police station. Dwivedi stated in the FIR that on the basis of the report of the two-member SIT, it surfaced that the victim woman had lodged a case of rape and dishonesty against the jailed MP Atul Rai in 2019. Police filed a charge sheet in the court. Thereafter, the accused got seven FIRs lodged against the victim woman.

    The FIR further claimed that the rape survivor had given a letter dated November 10, 2020, to SSP Varanasi accusing Amitabh Thakur of having taken money from BSP MP Atul Rai to frame false evidence in the court and also trying to tarnish her image forcing her to commit self-immolation.

    The rape survivor had also stated in the same letter that Amitabh Thakur was circulating misleading facts and defiling her image by circulating audios of her witnesses being related to criminals, said the FIR.

    The FIR also states that further on August 16, 2021, the victim woman and a man who was a witness of the case, immolated themselves outside the gate of the Supreme Court and later succumbed to their injuries.

  • Stopped by police from going to Gorakhpur citing threat to life: Former IPS officer Amitabh Thakur

    By PTI

    LUCKNOW: Former Uttar Pradesh cadre IPS officer Amitabh Thakur, who was given premature retirement, on Saturday claimed that he was stopped by police from going to Gorakhpur, citing a threat to his life.

    Thakur was given compulsory retirement on March 23 in “public interest” as he was found “unfit” for the remaining tenure of his service. Earlier, Thakur’s family had announced that he would be contesting the next year’s state Assembly polls against Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, terming it a fight for principles.

    The Gorakhpur Lok Sabha seat was represented by Adityanath before becoming the chief minister of the state.

    In a video statement, Thakur said when he was about to leave for Gorakhpur in the morning with one of his friends, huge police force along with the Gomtinagar circle officer arrived there, saying he cannot go there. “When I asked them to explain the reason for this, I was told that there is a threat to my life,” he said.

    “In that case (UP CM) Yogi Adityanath should not go anywhere because it is said that he faces a threat to life from the ISI and a number of other people. But he goes along with the security arrangement. I should also be given security and not stopped in the name of a threat. I was told that I am facing the anger of women from a specific community,” Thakur said.

    He added that this shows that Yogi Adityanath is afraid of a “small person” like him. “This is laughable, shows the reality and is a murder of democracy,” Thakur said.

    On August 14, Thakur’s family had announced that he would be contesting the next year’s state Assembly polls against Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. In a statement issued here, Thakur’s wife Nutan said it is a fight for principles for him.

    “Shri Adityanath undertook many undemocratic, improper, suppressive and discriminatory steps during his tenure as the chief minister. Hence, Amitabh shall be contesting the elections against Shri Adityanath from any place he contests,” she alleged.

    Following a decision taken by the Union Home Ministry, Thakur was given compulsory retirement on March 23 in “public interest”. He was “not found fit to be retained for the remaining tenure of his service”, an order from the Union Home Ministry had said of Thakur, who would have completed his service in 2028.

    In 2017, Thakur had urged the Centre to change his cadre state. The officer was suspended on July 13, 2015, days after he had accused Samajwadi Party patron Mulayam Singh of threatening him. A vigilance enquiry was also initiated against him.

    However, the Lucknow Bench of the Central Administrative Tribunal stayed his suspension in April 2016 and ordered his reinstatement with full salary with effect from October 11, 2015.

  • Uttar Pradesh: Probe panel gives clean chit to IPS officer BR Meena accused of harassment

    By PTI

    GHAZIABAD/ LUCKNOW: A probe panel looking into allegations against a senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of harassing a retired government official’s daughter in Ghaziabad has found the charges untrue, sources said on Saturday.

    The probe was ordered on July 30 by Uttar Pradesh’s DGP Mukul Goel in the wake of the allegations raised on social media and the investigation was handed over to a committee led by Addl DGP (Pradeshik Armed Constabulary) Ajay Anand, the sources said.

    When contacted, Anand told PTI he could not comment on the issue as he was the investigating officer in the case.

    However, another official told PTI, “The probe panel in its report submitted recently to the DGP has found the allegations against IG (Pradeshik Armed Constabulary) BR Meena as untrue. A probe by the local police also found the claims of harassment baseless.”

    “The inquiry panel was told by the complainant’s daughter that her father had levelled the charges in unsound health,” the official added.

    The retired government official, who lives in Ghaziabad, had in July taken to Twitter to level the charges against the 1997-batch IPS officer who is currently posted as Inspector General (IG) of Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) in Allahabad.

    Taking note of the allegation, the UP Police had launched the inquiry while the local Ghaziabad Police had also started a probe into the matter.

  • Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu makes ex-IPS officer Mohammad Mustafa his strategic advisor

    By PTI

    CHANDIGARH: Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu on Thursday appointed former IPS officer Mohammad Mustafa as his principal strategic advisor. The development followed days after Mustafa, the husband of Punjab Cabinet Minister Razia Sultana, had turned down Sidhu’s offer to appoint him as one of his four advisors.

    “Mohd Mustafa is hereby appointed as the principal strategic advisor to the PPCC president, the undersigned, Navjot Singh Sidhu with immediate effect,” a statement issued by Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee said.

    “He would act as a PCC coordinator with the AICC on issues pertaining to his domain and any other matters that the president may deem fit,” it added. “Love to be associated with Razia Ji and Mustafa sahib,” Sidhu said in a tweet.

    Besides Mustafa, Sidhu on August 11 had appointed three advisors — Lok Sabha MP Amar Singh, former registrar of Faridkot-based Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Pyare Lal Garg, and former government teacher Malvinder Singh Mali.

    But Mustafa had refused to take up the appointment. After becoming the PPCC chief, Sidhu had reached out to several leaders and visited their residences, including Mustafa’s. Mustafa along with another IPS officer Siddharth Chattopadhyaya had challenged IPS officer Dinkar Gupta’s appointment as Punjab police chief by the Amarinder Singh government in 2019.

    The state government had appointed Gupta as the Punjab DGP, suppressing the seniority of other IPS officers, including Mustafa. Sidhu has already appointed Jalandhar Cantonment MLA Pargat Singh as PPCC general secretary (organisation).

    The cricketer-turned-politician had on Wednesday also appointed two media advisors — Jagtar Singh Sidhu and Surinder Dalla.

  • IPS officer injured in Assam-Mizoram border clashes underwent successful surgery in Mumbai

    By Express News Service
    MUMBAI: The Assam cadre officer Vaibhav Nimbalkar, who was injured in the Assam Mizoram border dispute clash, underwent successful surgery at Kokilaben Hospital in Mumbai.

    According to people close to the 2009 IPS batch officer, he is fine and speedily recovering now. “During the Assam Mizoram border clash, the bullet was pierced in Vaibhav Nimbalkar’s thigh. Then, immediately he was airlifted and brought to Mumbai for further surgery and treatment. After the successful surgery, he is fine and doing well now,” said Sukrit Gumsae relative of Vaibhav Nimbalkar.

    Vaibhav Nimbalkar’s two bodyguards were killed along with the other five cops in the border clashes. He is a resident of Baramati and completed his education in Pune.

    “We are praying for his good health and confident that everything will be fine, he is a fighter. He will come out from this crisis also,” said a relative of Vaibhav Nimbalkar adding since his posting in Assam, Vaibhav has faced some or other challenges because of his work.

    “During his stint in Assam as various districts SP, he busted various drug and mafia rackets. If the area is community sensitive, then he tried to bring two communities together by arranging various programs and functions. If some are socially boycotted, then he Vaibhav will go that boycotted person home and have a cup of tea or break to break the social barriers and show the people that all are equal,” said the person who was close to Nimbalkar.

    He said during his college days also, when Tsunami was struck in the coastal region of south India, he rushed with a local NGO to help the people. “Vaibhav is a die-heart social worker. He was Dy SP at the age of 22 only. In 2020, he was given the gold medal for his outstanding service in the police department. His very posting was challenging in Assam,” he added.

  • Did intelligence chief take nod from CM for phone tapping, asks Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik on Thursday sought to know whether Rashmi Shukla had sought the nod of chief minister for tapping phone calls, a day after the senior IPS officer said the state government had given its permission for interception of certain phone numbers.

    Shukla told the Bombay High Court on Wednesday that the Maharashtra government had given its permission for interception of certain phone numbers to authenticate complaints of corruption in police transfers and postings.

    Her counsel Mahesh Jethmalani had said that when Shukla was heading the state intelligence department, she was directed by the Maharashtra Director General of Police (DGP) to conduct surveillance of a few phone numbers.

    Shukla had then taken permission from the state government’s Additional Chief Secretary Sitaram Kunte under provisions of the Indian Telegraph Act, Jethmalani said, adding that from July 17, 2020 to July 29, 2020, Kunte had given permission to Shukla to carry out surveillance.

    Reacting to it, Malik told reporters here that Shukla’s lawyers have informed the court that she had sought proper permissions to tap certain phone numbers. However, she had “mislead” the officials and sought the permission, the NCP spokesperson alleged.

    “It is imperative to find out whether police officer Rashmi Shukla had taken permission from chief minister for tapping phone calls,” Malik said without taking any name. She had sought permission under the pretext of sedition and national interest, but, in fact, tapped the calls of political opponents,” he alleged.

    Malik, whose party shares power with the Shiv Sena and Congress in Maharashtra, also claimed that Shukla was not transferred the way she has been telling about it. The Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress alliance led by Uddhav Thackeray came to power in Maharashtra in November 2019 after the Assembly polls.

    Before that, BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis was the chief minister for five years. Shukla had moved the HC, challenging an FIR filed by the Mumbai police’s cyber cell in a case of illegal phone tapping and alleged leaking of sensitive documents related to police postings.

    She is currently serving as additional director general of the Central Reserve Police Force’s (CRPF) South Zone and is posted in Hyderabad. The alleged tapping of phones had taken place when Shukla headed the Maharashtra intelligence department.

    BJP leader and former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had cited a letter purportedly written by Shukla to the then DGP about alleged corruption in police transfers. The letter also had details of intercepted calls, leading to an uproar with leaders of the Shiv Sena-led ruling coalition alleging that Shukla tapped phones without permission.

    Before the registration of the FIR, Sitaram Kunte had alleged in a report submitted to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray that it appears that Shukla herself had leaked the confidential report (to Fadnavis).

  • Assam: Senior IPS officer Rounak Ali Hazarika suspended for foreign visits without approval

    By Express News Service
    GUWAHATI: The Assam government on Tuesday suspended a Deputy Inspector General of Police with immediate effect for his numerous foreign visits since 2011 without obtaining prior permission from the government.

    A notification issued by the Home and Political Affairs Department said that senior IPS officer Rounak Ali Hazarika had flouted government guidelines on several occasions. “…The Governor of Assam, in exercise of powers conferred by the clauses of the All India Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1969, hereby places Sri Hazarika under suspension with immediate effect,” the notification stated.

    It added that the headquarters of Hazarika would be the office of Director General of Police and he would not leave the headquarters without obtaining the permission of the Secretary, Assam Home and Political Affairs Department.

  • Assam IPS officer suspended for going abroad without permission

    By PTI
    GUWAHATI: Senior Assam IPS officer Rounak Ali Hazarika, who was serving as the DIG (border), was suspended on Tuesday for allegedly going abroad on several occasions since 2011 without taking necessary permission.

    An order issued by the home department charged Hazarika of “gross misconduct” and said he has flouted several government guidelines.

    Governor Jagadish Mukhi, exercising the powers conferred on him by the All India Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1969, suspended Hazarika with immediate effect, the order said.

    During the period of his suspension, Hazarika will be stationed at the office of the DGP and shall not leave the headquarters here without obtaining permission, it stated.

    Hazarika joined the Assam Police Service (APS) in 1992 and was later promoted to the IPS cadre.

  • Maharashtra government extends protection from arrest to Param Bir Singh till June 22

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government will not arrest former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh till June 22 in a case registered against him under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, the Bombay High Court was told on Monday.

    Senior counsel Darius Khambata, who appeared for the Maharashtra government, told the high court that his previous statement on protecting the senior IPS officer from any “coercive action” in the case will be extended till June 22.

    Following Khambata’s statement, a bench of Justices PB Varale and SP Tavade adjourned the hearing till June 22 on the pleas filed by Singh seeking quashing of an FIR registered against him by the Thane Police under the Atrocities Act and challenging preliminary inquiries initiated against him by the state government.

    The FIR was registered against Singh under the Prevention of Atrocities Act in April this year on a complaint lodged by Akola police inspector BR Ghadge.

    Ghadge, who belongs to the Scheduled Caste community, had alleged that Singh had conspired with others to implicate him in some cases of extortion after he refused to follow Singh’s illegal orders to benefit some accused persons in a criminal case.

    In his other plea in the HC, Singh had challenged two inquiries initiated against him by the state government on charges of misconduct and corruption. The first inquiry order was passed on April 1 this year by then state home minister Anil Deshmukh for alleged violation of some All India Services (Conduct) Rules.

    The second order was passed on April 20 by Deshmukh’s successor Dilip Walse Patil over allegations of corruption levelled against Singh.

  • CRPF DG Kuldiep Singh gets additional charge of National Investigation Agency

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: CRPF chief Kuldiep Singh has been given the additional charge of the Director General of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to replace YC Modi, who retires on Monday, a Home Ministry order said.

    Modi, a 1984-batch IPS officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre, was appointed chief of the federal anti-terror probe agency in September 2017.

    Consequent upon superannuation of YC Modi, DG, NIA, on May 31, 2021, the competent authority has approved that Kuldiep Singh, Director General, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), shall hold additional charge of the post of DG, NIA, till the appointment and joining of the successor or until further orders, the MHA order issued on Saturday said.