Centre to take away medals of six IPS officers who participated in Mamata Banerjee’s dharna: Report
The Ministry of Home Affairs has also reportedly decided that the officers will not be assigned central government duties in the future.
The Centre has decided to take away the medals awarded to six Indian Police Service officers in West Bengal who had participated in Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s protest against the Central Bureau of Investigation, The Hindu reported on Thursday.
The officers are West Bengal Director General of Police Virendra, Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar, Assitant Director General Vineet Kumar Goel, Assistant Director General (law and order) Anuj Sharma, Bidhannagar Police Commissioner Gyanwant Singh and Additional Commissioner of Police Supratim Sarkar.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has also reportedly decided that the officers will not be assigned central government duties in the future. “The central government has taken a dim view of serving officers of uniformed forces taking part in sit-ins and dharnas,” an unidentified official told the daily. “With respect to the officers who had participated in a dharna in Kolkata on February 4, the Ministry of Home Affairs is reported to have asked West Bengal to take action as per All India Service conduct rules.”
On Tuesday, the Ministry of Home Affairs on Tuesday asked the West Bengal government to initiate disciplinary proceedings against Rajeev Kumar for allegedly violating service rules.
The stand-off between the state and the CBI began after a CBI team reached Kumar’s home to question him on Sunday evening. Police officials stopped them and detained five members of the team for around two hours. Banerjee came out in Kumar’s support and called the CBI action a “coup” by the Centre. She then started a dharna.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed Kumar to cooperate with the CBI in its inquiry in the Rose Valley and Saradha chit fund scams. The court said no coercive steps, including arrest, can be taken against the police officer but issued contempt notice to Kumar, Director General of Police Virendra and the West Bengal government, and asked them to file replies by February 18. After the court’s order, Banerjee ended her three-day dharna and claimed that it was a moral victory for the state police.
The Centre is also reportedly planning to issue an advisory to states, directing them to ensure that uniformed personnel adhere to the rules.