IPS officers victimised? Centre takes on Modi

New Delhi: The Centre has taken on Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi over Indian Police Service officers complaining of victimisation by the state government. Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on Friday said that the Centre may step in following complaints by the police officers.

Chidambaram reiterated that there are rules which allow the Centre to intervene but only at the behest of the officer concerned.

"Rules do provide for Central Government to take certain decisions but this depends on officer concerned. If officer concerned raises it we can," said Chidambaram.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was quick to defend Modi and claimed the police officers were acting as Congress workers.

"We take a strong view on Chidambaram's statement on Gujarat police officer. The Home Minister is destroying the federal structure (and) the Central Government is acting as a big brother. These police officers were actively conspiring with some civil society groups and were in touch with some state Congress leaders to destabilise the state government," said senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley.

Three senior IPS officers of Gujarat cadre have alleged victimisation by the Modi government after they accused the state government of inaction during the 2002 riots and in a case of alleged fake encounter.

After IPS officers Sanjiv Bhatt and Rahul Sharma, the Modi government's latest to be DIG Rajneesh Rai, who has told the Central Administrative Tribunal that his annual confidential report has been downgraded by the state government.

Rai had sent a report accuses former state DGP PC Pande of conspiring to kill Tulsi Prajapati in 2006. Rai in his report had claimed that former Gujarat home minister Amit Shah was influencing the investigations in the fake encounter cases.

In his rejoinder to the CAT, Rai went a step further, alleging Amit Shah was behind a criminal conspiracy to tamper with justice.

Rai was the officer who made the first key arrests in the Sohrabbudin Sheikh fake encounter case. He was the one who arrested IPS officers DG Vanzara, Rajkumar Pandian and Dinesh MN from Rajasthan in the fake encounter case.

He was later transferred from CID Crime to the Crime Records Bureau.

IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt had filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court saying Modi had instructed officials and police to let Hindus vent their anger after the Sabarmati Express train burning. Bhatt was suspended on August 8 with immediate effect on the grounds that his conduct was unbecoming of an IPS officer.

The specific reasons cited against Bhatt were unauthorised absence of duty, non-appearance before a departmental panel and alleged misuse of official vehicle.

Another IPS officer, Rahul Sharma, had in 2004 submitted CDs of call records between the police, politicians and Sangh Parivar members during the 2002 riots to the Nanavati Commission. Now the Gujarat Home Ministry has been given the nod to file a chargesheet against Sharma.

The Modi government had earlier issued a notice to Sharma asking him who gave him the permission to hand over the records. Sharma is presently DIG (armed units) in Rajkot.