Following the suspension of three HCS officers and 10 Deputy Superintendents of Police (DSPs) for alleged dereliction of duty during the violent Jat quota stir in the state, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar lal on Sunday said that the State Government would go by the Prakash Singh Committee report and disciplinary action would be initiated against all officers and employees found guilty in the report.
The BJP led State Government had two days back suspended three HCS officers and 10 DSPs, who were indicted by the Prakash Singh probe panel, which submitted its report to the Chief Minister on May 13.
A day before, departmental action was also recommended against 15 police personnel of Rohtak district, including 8 SHOs, on the basis of the panel report. The Rohtak SP was asked to initiate departmental action against these erring cops.
Besides other police personnel, the erring SHOs were charged with failure to protect units/establishments including the residence of Finance Minister Capt. Abhimanyu, two shopping malls, three school buildings, plant of a leading paint manufacturing company, a gun house, several shops and "cowardice and failure to protect police station, Meham, from being damaged/looted".
The Chief Minister while talking to the mediapersons in Karnal said that three sub-divisional magistrates (SDMs) and 10 DSP level officers had been suspended and administrative action was being taken against them. Also, action has been taken against one Inspector General level officer, he added.
last week, the State Government had also shunted out its Additional Chief Secretary (Home) PK Das, who was replaced by another senior IAS officer Ram Niwas on the said charge.
As many as 90 officers including IAS and IPS officers have been indicted for “deliberate negligence” during the Jat quota agitation by Prakash Singh Committee and adverse comments were made against them in the report. About 30 percent officers indicted are from Rohtak, which had witnessed maximum violence during the Jat reservation stir in February.
The State Government is considering suspending more officers, who were indicted in the inquiry report. More senior officers in civil and police administration will either face suspension or departmental inquiry in the next one week.
A total of 30 persons were killed and more than 300 were injured during the quota agitation in the state. Property worth hundreds of crores of rupees was also damaged and destroyed in the mayhem.
The Prakash Singh Committee, which was appointed on February 25 had inquired into the alleged acts of omission and commission on part of officials of both police and civil administration during the agitation from February 7 to 22.
The inquiry panel had inquired into the role of officers starting from the rank of Sub-Inspector to SP in police and Naib Tehsildar or duty Magistrate to the rank of Deputy Commissioner in civil administration in the riot-affected districts of Rohtak, Jhajjar, Jind, Hisar, Kaithal, Bhiwani, Sonepat and Panipay.
The report had pointed out how some officials provided a free hand to rioters during the agitation that led to the incidents of arson and looting in the state. The inquiry panel had not recommended any specific action against any of the senior officers leaving it to the State Government to take appropriate action as per law.