The public snub to a woman IPS officer by a BJP MlA in Gorakhpur on Monday seemed to have snowballed into a major controversy with the ruling party lawmaker deciding to stage protest and the IPS officers’ body condemning the incident as “interference in law enforcement”.
The matter also led to a face-off between the Government and bureaucrats with Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya backing MlA Radha Mohan Das Aggarwal and an IG-rank police officer demanding that the IPS Association act in the matter.
Condemning the incident against the ASP, Gorakhpur, the IPS Association said, “If interference in law enforcement goes unpunished, the ability of police to protect people gets eroded.”
A delegation of the UP IPS Association led by its president Praveen Singh met Chief Secretary Rahul Bhatnagar tonight and demanded strong action against those involved in the incident and ensure such incidents did not recur.
Bhatnagar assured the delegation that their concerns would be conveyed to higher authorities.