Some IPS officers unhappy with indictment of ex-Muz’nagar SSP

LUCKNOW: Some Uttar Pradesh IPS Association members, in their individual capacity, have condemned the justice (retd) Vishnu Sahai commission report for recommending action against the then Muzaffarnagar SSP Subhash Chandra Dubey.

These association members were active on the instant messaging application WhatsApp on Monday, criticising the commission for indicting Dubey who was posted in the district for just 11 days. The office bearers of the association also came under attack for not supporting Dubey.

An SSP posted in west UP led the attack on the commission as well as office bearers of the association for not rallying behind Dubey. “No action had been taken against the officers who were posted in the district when the riots broke out. The commission has not recommended action against the then DM and the SSP (Dubey’s predecessor),” he said.

Another IPS officer said, “The responsibility of the then principal secretary (home), the director general of police and the ADG (law and order) should be also fixed as they were giving instructions to the district officers and monitoring police deployment in the sensitive area. “Who instructed district officers to allow the members of a community to hold a mahapanchayat?” the officer said.

“A hate message was circulating on the social media for long but no measures was taken by top administrative officers to counter it,” said an IPS officer posted in the intelligence department. “It was only when the riot spread to the rural areas that senior officers in Lucknow decided to call the army. Why is justice Sahai silent on this issue,” he asked.

The decision of the IPS association to oppose the suspension of DIG (Lucknow) DK Chawdhary, who allegedly slapped an old shopkeeper, was appreciated by the association members. A young IPS officer said, “The association should also take a stand on the Dubey issue. The situation in Muzaffaranagar did not deteriorate in a day or two but antisocial elements were active in the area for six months.”

The office bearers of the IPS association refused to comment on the views expressed by the members on WhatsApp. “We would discuss the issue during the next meeting of the association,” said an office bearer.