Politician-cop nexus: How top netas flout rules to influence police postings

How do the police in the state acquire postings that are more lucrative more prestigious Not by working hard and definitely not by solving more cases and providing dedicated services to citizens A Right to Information RTI query has revealed that the shortest route to plum postings is through netas Going by the revelations made in response to RTI activist Jeetendra Ghadgersquos application recommendations for transfer of numerous cops to various police departments were made by ruling ministers former ministers MPs and MLAs In this letter to Home Minister R R Patil on January 1 2013 Kolhapur MLA Vinay Kore recommended the post of Additional SP State CID Pune for Deputy SP GRP Pune Anees Qazi RR Patilrsquos comment lsquoPl put uprsquo can be seen with his signature The response reveals how some police officials are violating rule 413 of the police manual which categorically states that lsquogovernment servants are forbidden to approach officials of other departments or nonofficial gentlemen for support in pressing individual claimsrsquo Remarkably instead of taking stringent disciplinary action against police officials seeking favours and patronage from politicos the home department has in fact acknowledged the receipt of such dubious letters of lsquorecommendationrsquo The letter sent by Vasant Davkhare deputy speaker in the Vidhan Parishad recommending Additional SP of Latur S D Kokate for the post of Additional SP Thane rural In the last few months most of the recommendations made by politicians are on behalf of police officials of the ranks of deputy superintendent and additional superintendent of police who are either keen on postings and transfers to the traffic department state CID Anti Corruption Bureau ACB or even the State Reserve Police Force Ghadge had filed an RTI query on January 16 2013 seeking copies of all the letters of recommendation sent by various ministers seeking transfer or promotion of police officials over the last three years In response Ghadge was allowed inspection of the said letters by the home department on March 6 and copies of recommendation letters were given to him on March 13 2013 Since the entire home department office on the eighth floor of the Mantralaya had caught fire last year he received only a few copies of recommendation letters But these were enough to confirm his suspicions The letter sent by state tribal development minister Babanrao Pachpute to Home Minister R R Patil on December 13 2012 recommending the post of Deputy SP SRPF mdash Group 5 7 Daund or Group 1 Pune for S M Khedkar As per the documents eight police officials had used their political clout between August 2012 and February 2013 and made their contacts in high places send request letters to the chief minister or home minister The lsquorecommendation lettersrsquo have even been accepted and acknowledged with rubber stamps of the chief minister and home minister In the RTI responses the political leaders mention the posts that the applicants are vying for In cases where the letters are directly addressed to Home Minister RR Patil his signature and stamp are accompanied by a note which says ldquopl please put uprsquo penned right above his signature asking for the consideration of the home department official that the letter has been forwarded to Ghadge said ldquoPolitical interference is a serious issue and aggravates the law and order problem Good cops are often sidelined whereas the corrupt get the plum postings The contents of these letters suggest cops want influential postings where corruption is rife You will never see a cop lobbying to get a posting in the AntiTerror Squad Itrsquos because of these few corrupt police officials that the whole force gets a bad reputationrdquo He added ldquoThe home department can stop this trend if they have the will power Even though there is a rule against such practices who caresrdquo lsquoPicknchoose policyrsquo While none of the recommendations have actually translated to actual postings former IPS officer turned lawyer Y P Singh labelled the very act of sending recommendations through influential politicos a lsquoviolation of service codersquo Singh said ldquoThe home minister is being tactful instead of taking firm action against police officials who violate the rules He acknowledged the receipt and forwarded the letters to the his subordinates with remark lsquoplease put uprsquo which may be a suggestion that they do the needful They are following the policy of pick and choose which is not permissible under Article 14 of the constitutionrdquo Director General of Police Sanjeev Dayal said ldquoNo one has brought this matter to my notice nor has anyone written to me If you have any specific case do let us know I will look into the matterrdquou00a0 Rule 413 of the police manual Government servants are forbidden to approach officials of other departments or nonofficial gentlemen for support in pressing individual claims or obtaining redress of grievances or to approach members of the legislature with a view of having their individual grievances made the subjects of the interpellations of the legislature They will be liable for disciplinary action if members of the Legislature or nonofficial persons approach the government on their behalf unless they can prove that such approach was made without their knowledge Cases in point Case I Name of politician Vasant Davkhare deputy speaker state Vidhan Parishad Letter addressed to Chief Minister Prithivraj Chavan on November 3 2012 Posting for Additional SP Latur S D Kokate Recommended post Additional SP Thane ruralu00a0Kokate said ldquoI am still in my old posting in Latur and have not been transferred I have no clue about such a letter written by Davkhare though I have heard of him I never approached him nor know him personally I am in the midst of controlling a riot and will speak to you laterrdquoDavkhare said ldquoI do not know Kokate some police officer recommended him and requested me to write to the chief minister Being a politician it is my duty to provide such assistance but the policemen should also understand that my letter does not guarantee their transfer Such recommendations does not work every timerdquo Case II Name of politician Babanrao Pachpute state tribal development minister Letter addressed to Home Minister R R Patil on December 13 2012 Posting for Deputy SP State Reserve Police Force Group 10 Solapur S M Khedkar Recommended post Deputy SP SRPF mdash Group 5 7 Daund or Group 1 Pune Khedkar said ldquoI am due for retirement on June 30 2013 I had approached the minister hoping that I can spend my last few months before retirement with my family who are in Pune But itrsquos been three months since the request was made and I am in still in Solapur I have given up hope and have already started processing my papers for retirementrdquo Babanrao Pachpute could not be contacted Case III Name of Politician Dr Kalyan Kale MLA Aurangabad Letter addressed to Prithviraj Chavan on September 22 2012 Posting for Additional SP Aurangabad Ramesh Gorale who was transferred to the Police Training Academy Nasiku00a0Recommended post Additional SP Aurangabad ruralu00a0Gorale said ldquoI do not know the MLA personally nor was the request acceptedrdquou00a0Kale said ldquoI had made a recommendation for Gorale to the chief minister but I was informed by the government that since Gorale had already accepted his posting and resumed duty at Nasik nothing could be done I usually refrain from sending such recommendations unless some police officer makes a personal requestrdquo Case IV Name of politician Vinay Kore MLA Kolhapur Letter addressed to Home Minister R R Patil on January 1 2013 Posting for Deputy SP GRP Pune Anees Qazi Recommended post Additional SP state CID Pune officers get a onerank promotion when they join the state CID Qazi said ldquoSince I am due for retirement in July 2013 I thought it is better to retire from state CID as the officers get one rank promotion and I could have retired as Additional SPrdquo u00a0Vinay Kore said ldquoI know Qazi personally and he had approached me asking to spend his preretirement time with his family in Pune Hence I had made a request to the home minister and had even spoken to Patil personally on this case He has assured he will look into the matter Qazi was even open to any side posting in Pune I can only put in a request and nothing morerdquou00a0