State DGP rejects move to make IPS officers report to district collectors
In a move that indicates that the Indian Police Service (IPS) is unwilling to be controlled beyond a limit by the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), the state’s Director General of Police (DGP) has rejected a recommendation that the district superintendent of police, report to the district collector.
This was a recommendation made by Principal Secretary (revenue) Manukumar Shrivastav, in his inquiry report that commissioned after an ugly spat between Bhandara Superintendent of Police Dilip Zalke and District Collector Dheeraj Kumar, on August 27 this year. Shrivastava has also suggested that district collectors be empowered to write/review the Annual Confidential Reports (ACR) of the SPs.
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The ACR is important for a professional because this document decides employee’s promotion to the next rank. Currently, the inspector generals of respective ranges appraise the SPs’ annual performance. Sources said DGP Praveen Dixit, upon receiving a copy of the Shrivastav Panel's report, has summarily rejected the “unfair” recommendation, and asked the state government to not accept it at any cost.
The Home Department, headed by CM Devendra Fadnavis will decide upon the recommendations soon, said a senior CMO official, adding that the CM would not approve of such recommendation because of a wide-spread resentment in the IPS lobby. Some IPS officers told sunday mid-day that the recommendation was nothing but a ploy to usurp their policing powers. They said that some senior IPS officers were asked to report to much junior IAS officers.
“The IPS Association will not allow this kind of injustice and humiliation. Anyway, we are never treated at par with the IAS, which continues to rub us the wrong way. The IAS controls both home department and the IPS as well. What more do they want now? Do they want to do the policing as well?” said a peeved IPS officer.
Shrivastav was asked to probe both Zalke and Kumar's conduct. The spat took place when the collector led a delegation of revenue officials to the SP's office for seeking the arrest of a local weekly editor on charges of assaulting a tehsildar (senior revenue officer who reports to the collector).
The collector demanded to know why the editor was allowed bail. The spat took plat in public and Zalke accused Kumar of questioning his professional conduct and ability to hold the SP’s office. Kumar had alleged that the SP had ordered him to “get out and get lost (from his office)”.
Shrivastav’s reports found more faults with the SP than the collector. But, he said that the collector had violated a protocol by visiting the SP’s office. The report was submitted late last month, but the then DGP Sanjeev Dayal, who was retiring, asked his successor, Dixit to review it.
While Dixit neither confirmed, nor denied the development, he suggested that this paper speak to additional chief secretary (home) KP Bakshi. Bakshi did not respond to our calls and text messages.
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