Haryana Government has constituted a one-man commission to probe into the alleged failure and inaction of civil and police officials during the Jat agitation
which turned violent resulting in losses of hundreds of crores in the State.
The Commission will submit the report within 45 days.
The State Government has appointed Prakash Singh, a retired IPS officer and recipient of Padma Shri, to inquire into the acts of omission and commission on part of all officers and officials of both Police and Civil Administration during the Jat Reservation agitation resulted in blockades of roads including national highways, violence and extensive damage to public and private properties in many districts, said a spokesman of State Government.
He said that Prakash Singh will be assisted by two serving officers of the state, each drawn from IAS and IPS cadres. Services of two investigators of the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police/Inspector, serving or retired, with previous experience of CID/CBI would also be placed at his disposal.
Prakash Singh will also undertake a thorough study of existing structures, procedures and systems for maintenance of law and order in the state and suggest such improvements in these, as he deems necessary, to prevent recurrence of such incidents in future, said the spokesman.
He will submit his report in this regard within a further period of one month. In this task, he will be assisted by two serving police officers of the State Government, who would be selected in consultation with him, he added.
Haryana witnessed large scale violence in the last ten days with rampaging mobs looting and setting shops on fire, burning government and private buildings and vehicles and clashing with security forces during the Jat quota stir.
Several Cabinet Ministers and leaders of opposition had demanded inquiry into the inept handling of Jat agitation that turned violent claiming lives of 19 persons and leaving more than 200 injured besides resulting in hundreds of crores of losses due to damage to public and private property.
A day before, Chief Minister Manohar lal Khattar had assured that strict action would be taken against those found guilty of inaction and inept handling of law and order situation during the Jat agitation.
Notably, Prakash Singh was Police Chief of two large states of Uttar Pradesh and Assam. While in Uttar Pradesh, his tenure was marked by a relentless campaign against the Mafia and stamping out terrorism from the Terai area, he was handpicked for Assam at a time when UlFA had declared that they would now allow elections to be held in the state. The elections were held peacefully as not a bullet had to be fired, informed the spokesman.
Prakash Singh is also known for his work for Police reforms in India. After his resignation from IPS in 1996, he filed a Public Interest litigation (PIl) in the Supreme Court, urging the court to investigate measures to reform the police forces across India to ensure the proper rule of law and improve security across India. The verdict on this PIl came in 2006 in which, the Supreme Court has suggested various police reforms to the State Governments.
He has also commanded the Border Security Force (BSF) and during his tenure, the BSF gave a stellar account of itself in combating militancy in Jammu and Kashmir. He is remembered as one of the best Director Generals of the Force. He is also an expert on Naxal/Maoist affairs and was associated with anti-Naxal measures taken by Government of India.
He was member, National Security Advisory Board during 2013-14 and is one of the foremost experts of the country on Internal Security. At present, he is Associate Fellow of the Joint Special Operations University (US) and President, Indian Police Foundation and Member, Advisory Board of Vivekananda International Foundation.