A Whattsapp message pointed that acute `pressure’ had taken the life of a bright and honest officer of Provincial Police Services (PPS) cadre Rajesh Sahni, who reportedly shot himself dead to commit suicide in his office at Gomati Nagar on Tuesday. Sahni was reportedly enquiring from his colleague about what benefit will they get in case going ahead with Volunteer Retirement.
``What will an officer get if he takes VRS’ posted Rajesh Sahni on Whattsapp group of PPS officers just eight days before he committed suicide on May 21 last pointed that he was thinking of quitting the job. However, it is still not clear whether it was work pressure of some undue pressure on the officer which forced him to think of taking VRS when just a year ahead, he will be all set to be inducted into elite Indian Police Services (IPS) cadre, a dream which every PPS officer who wait for almost three decades of their service to get it fulfilled.
Sources said that besides some arguments with his family members over growing work pressure due to which Sahni could not give enough time to his family, which was also claimed by the district police as possible reason behind the suicide, Sahni was reportedly having some serious differences with his bosses in the ATS over undue pressure on him not to raise objection over clearing proposals of tenders for purchase of arms and ammunitions and modernization of ATS as well as expansion of infrastructure of the elite anti terrorists force of the State.
Sources in the ATS confirmed that a high level probe should be made that in which purchase committees involving deals running into several crores, Sahni was member and that which officer in the Force is pressurising him to clear it. A senior officer in the Department claimed that if a probe of all purchases made in the ATS in last few years will be made by an independent agency like Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), then not just the truth about fairness in the purchase will unfold but the `pressure’ on junior officers to clear the files in haste will also be exposed and the reason behind Sahni’s suicide might also get to fore.
The officer said that it must be probed that which officer called Sahni even when he was on leave, whether the officer abused Sahni over some issue after which he went in his room and committed suicide. likewise, it must be probed that when the police manual said that arms can not be issued in case any officer is on leave, they how and who issued weapon to him, Rajesh’s driver Manoj said that he was told to get ready as they had to go for some important `operation’ than the ATS official must disclose that for which operation Sahni was taking about.
It must be also looked into that why the officer sitting in the adjacent room not heard gun shot and that why the officer was not taken to hospital even if the ATS officer deemed him to be `dead’. The officer also questioned over seriousness of the top officers to find out the reasons behind the suicide citing that a sub-inspector rank officer is probing the matter so it could be anyones guess that in case the suicide was due to pressure of the senior officer than how an SI could muster courage even to question them once in this regard.
