Day after Punjab Governor and Administrator of Chandigarh-UT Banwarilal Purohit lashed out at the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann for raising objections over his decision to prematurely repatriate UT Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Kuldeep Singh Chahal to his parent cadre, the state government on Thursday send a panel of three IPS officers to the UT Administration for appointment to the coveted post.
In the panel, the names of 2012-batch IPS officer Akhil Chaudhary — currently posted as Assistant Inspector General (AIG), Personnel, Law and Order and Public Grievances; 2012-batch IPS officer Sandeep Kumar Garg — currently posted as Mohali SSP; and 2013-batch IPS officer Bhagirath Singh Meena — currently posted as Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar (Hoshiarpur) SSP, have been shortlisted.
As per general practice, the panel of three IPS officers have been forwarded to the UT Administration, following which the same would be forwarded to the Union Home Ministry for approval.
Punjab cadre IPS officer, Kuldeep Singh Chahal, was repatriated prematurely to his parent state by the UT Administration on Monday evening even as he had 10 months left of his three-year tenure. His charge was given to SSP (traffic) Manisha Chaudhary, a Haryana-cadre IPS officer.
Raising objections, Chief Minister Mann had shot off a communique to Punjab Governor and also the Union Home Minister Amit Shah regarding Chahal’s premature repatriation to his parent cadre without asking for a panel to appoint SSP of UT-Chandigarh.
Mann had also described the “ad-hoc” appointment of Haryana cadre IPS Officer as UT SSP as “unwanted and undesirable” and violative of the laid precedence wherein the post of SSP is given to a Punjab cadre officer. He argued that the move would “disturb the balance among the states in running the affairs of UT, Chandigarh”.
Coming down heavily on the Chief Minister, the Governor, a day before, wrote back asserting that the Punjab Government was informed well in advance about Chahal’s repatriation because of “serious inputs regarding his misconduct”. At the same time, Purohit had maintained that the Chief Secretary was repeatedly asked to send a panel of “efficient IPS officers” to appoint as UT SSP.
Purohit had also lashed out at the Chief Minister for not doing his homework well and raising an “unnecessary issue of Punjab versus Haryana” over UT SSP’s ad-hoc appointment while writing a letter.
“The contents of the letter demonstrate that due care has not been taken to ascertain the facts while writing the said letter and dispatching it. Had that care been taken, such a letter could not have been written at, in the first place,” Purohit had said.
Purohit also took a dig at Mann’s long absence from the State saying that he could not contact him (Mann) as, during this period, “you were busy, campaigning in Gujarat assembly poll”.