Following the revelations made by retired IPS officer Prakash Singh that there was a lot of pressure on him to be lenient with bureaucrats and police officers, while investigating acts of omission and commissions, committed during Jat quota stir, Haryana Ministers on Monday hit out at the retired IPS officer.
The former Uttar Pradesh DGP, who headed the one man commission appointed on February 25 to probe the lapses into the official response during Jat quota stir that turned violent in the State, had claimed that he was pressured to let off influential people and government servants and police officers too, who were involved in the violence.
Reacting to the claims of Prakash Singh, Haryana Minister Anil Vij said that he should reveal the name of those people who had pressurized him rather than making such claims.
Another Cabinet Minister Krishan Kumar Bedi also said that the retired IPS should give the names of those tried to pressurize him during the inquiry. On the other hand, Haryana BJP chief and MlA Subhash Barala claimed that there was no pressure on Prakash Singh related to the inquiry.
The opposition parties have meanwhile lashed out at the BJP led State Government over the claims made by the retired IPS officer.
leader of opposition and INlD’s senior leader Abhay Singh Chautala said that the BJP government has no right to stay in the power now. The BJP leaders pressurized the retired IPS to save those indulged in wrong doing during Jat stir, said he. Holding BJP responsible for the Jat agitation, Chautala alleged that the BJP has ruined the state.
Haryana Congress chief Ashok Tanwar called the inquiry report, just an eyewash. The BJP does not want to punish the real culprits and thus, resorting to such tactics, he alleged.
As many as 90 officers including IAS and IPS officers were 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 inducted are from Rohtak, which had witnessed maximum violence during the Jat reservation stir.
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 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 Panipat.