State suspends top
police man
Ofificial linked with terrorist group in past
The past finally caught up with additional director general of police,
state crime records bureau, Gandhinagar, Gurudayal Singh with the state
government clamping suspension orders on him with immediate effect on
the basis of a charge sheet filed by the CBI in 1997.
The suspension orders have
been issued using powers vested in the state government under rule 3
(3) of the All India Service (Discipline and Appeal Rules), 1969. Mr
Singh belongs to the 1973 IPS batch and had at least three years of
service left.
Mr Singh is in the dock
for having transgressed his authority as resident commissioner to the
Tripura government in 1990 by nominating medical seats to six persons,
who had neither passed nor appeared for the medical entrance tests for
the seats allocated to Tripura. Announcing this at the post Cabinet
meeting here on Wednesday, minister of state for home Haren Pandya said,
"The authority for nominating students lay with the director of medical
services of Tripura. The Assam high court had directed the CBI to file
an FIR in the case and six chargesheets had been filed on the basis
of evidences gathered by the CBI." In fact, one of the chargesheets
had pointed towards the involvement of then chief minister of Tripura
and the health minister of Delhi.
Although the incident had
occurred in 1990 the CBI had issued chargesheets against Mr Singh in
1997 on the basis of the directions issued by the Assam high court.
Additional chief secretary
(home) Dr V.V.R. Subbarao said the decision has been taken on the basis
of clear evidence against Mr Singh in the CBI chargesheets, copies of
which had been received only recently, and the sanctions given by the
Centre. When asked why action is being taken after such a long time,
Dr Subbarao said the papers came in recently and sought refuge under
the adage "better late than never." Offences against Mr Singh include
criminal conspiracy under section 120 B, cheating under Section 420,
forgery for the purpose of cheating under Section 468, using a genuine
forged document under Section 471 of the IPC and the criminal misconduct
by a public servant.
The state government is
of the view that the continuance is service and holding responsible
positions as a law-enforcing officer after being prosecuted by an agency
like the CBI will send wrong signal to the public as well as the members
of the police force.
Moreover, the state government
is also of the opinion that guardians of law should be above board.
