The administration in Haryana had failed to do its duty in the Jat protest earlier this year as 90 officers of police and civil administration have been indicted by the Prakash Singh panel, constituted by the Haryana Government to probe the lapses into the official response during Jat quota stir that turned violent in the State.
The panel, headed by Prakash Singh, former Director General of Police (DGP) for Uttar Pradesh and Assam, submitted its report to Chief Minister Manohar lal Khattar here on Friday.
Pointing out major “negligence” on part of certain officials to control the aggravated situation during the Jat agitation in February, the report has indicted the then Rohtak range IG, Rohtak Deputy Commissioner, Jhajjar Deputy Commissioner, Jhajjar SDM, Jhajjar SP, Hisar DC, Sonepat Deputy Commissioner and Sonipat SDM among others, said sources.
Most of the officials among these have already been transferred by the Manohar lal Khattar Government in the past two months.
The report has also 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 has examined the role of officers in the riot-affected districts of Rohtak, Jhajjar, Jind, Hisar, Kaithal, Bhiwani, Sonipat and Panipat.
Retired IPS Prakash Singh after submitting the report said, “The officers who were derelict in the performance of their duties or who showed soft corner for the agitators and thereby allowed them a long rope have been identified in the report.”
Talking to reporters, he said that among 90 officials indicted, about 30 per cent are from Rohtak, which had witnessed maximum violence during the Jat reservation stir.
Thirty people were killed and more than 300 injured during the quota agitation in the State. Property worth hundreds of crores of rupees was also damaged and destroyed in the mayhem.
Without naming any official, the former DGP said that senior IAS and IPS officers have been found to be “negligent” in handling the violence that gripped the State in February. We have identified several Deputy Commissioners, Superintendent of police, deputy magistrates, naib tehsildars, sub-inspectors who did not act promptly to neutralise the agitation.
“Rioters were given a free hand and police did not act timely to stop the violence at some places. During the inquiry, we observed that in one sub division, officials deliberately didn’t enforce rule of law for about six hours, allowing anti-social elements a free run.
There were instances of deliberate negligence also which are unpardonable,” said Singh.
The former DGP also expressed shock over the gross lapses on part of the policemen who deserted their posts and ran away from scene of crime.
He also suggested that the role of Army should be questioned as the violence continued for many hours even after the Army was called in for handling the internal security of the state.
Terming the violent incidents during the agitation as “regrettable”, the retired IPS said that the Haryana Police was not prepared to tackle the crisis.
“Not only Haryana Police, the Police force everywhere in the country is in a mess and is not able to tackle such challenges situation,” he added.
The panel report, which is in two volumes, runs into about 450 pages out of which the main report is in about 200 pages and there are another 200 pages of annexures. The second volume, which has only about 37 pages, deals with the role of intelligence in the context of the riots which has been sent to the Home Department.
Giving details of the inquiry conducted in eight districts by the panel, Singh said that the Committee heard 2,217 persons from different walks of life. 143 video footages were received and 395 statements were recorded on the spot. All such statements whether written or video recordings have been submitted to the Home Department.
Prakash Singh, who submitted the report within 71 days after the constitution of the inquiry panel said that the Committee inspected the scenes of crime, gave a patient hearing to the aggrieved and also listened to all those members of the public who wanted to appear before the Committee.
A questionnaire was prepared for the officers of police and civil administration to analyse their response during the violent agitation, he informed. He added that the panel has also identified the officers who did commendable job during the agitation.
Asked whether the Haryana Police was capable of dealing with violence during the Jat stir, he said, “The failure while tackling the violence during agitation proves that the state police is weak. But, the panel has observed that if provided right leadership, right recruitment and equipment, Haryana Police may emerge as best in the state.”
Singh further said that Haryana have the toughest human material of the country and if given proper training they will reach to great heights.
He added that observation have been made in the report for the Centre, judiciary and Haryana Government so that such incidents do not repeat in the future.
Commenting on the political backing and role of Jats officials during riots, the retired IPS said that there might have been some conspiracy behind the violence which is already been looked into by judicial commission headed by Justice SN Jha (retd). The Committee has only named the officers in police and civil administration who failed to perform their duty during the riots…no caste based list has been prepared, he said.
On recommendation of action against erring officers, Singh said that the panel has not recommended suspension or dismissal of these officers but recommended strict action against them.
Haryana Government should now take action against these indicted officers and set a right example. If action is not taken against them, a wrong message would go…and such mistakes will be repeated again, added Singh.
After receiving the report, Chief Minister Manohar lal Khattar said that the Government would examine the report and would take appropriate action at the earliest. The Committee has also made some recommendation to improve the functioning of the civil and police administration. These would also be carefully examined and suitable action would be taken, he added.
It is however remain to be seen what action the State Government would take against the erring officers. A large number of IAS and IPS have already been transferred in the past two months following their failure to deal with the aggravated situation during Jat stir.
Top Police officers Yashpal Singal and Shatrujeet Singh Kapur were also transferred from their respective posts considering the utter failure of Haryana Police and its intelligence wing during the Jat stir.
IPS officer Shrikant Jadhav who was IGP of Rohtak range alongwith Haryana Police Service officers Amit Bhatia and Amit Dahiya, both Rohtak DSPs, were suspended in February for negligence in performing their duty during the agitation. However, a day before, Haryana Government has reinstated Shrikant Jadhav and posted him as Inspector General of Police/State Crime Record Bureau, Madhuban.
Notably, Haryana Government had on April 8 also appointed 2-member judicial commission headed by Justice SN Jha (retd.) and former IPS officer NC Padhi as its member to inquire into the sequence of events leading to violence in seven districts of Haryana during Jat agitation.