Thiruvananthapuram: Even as the race to the post of the State police chief hots up, the government has rejected the clearance certificates Vigilance director Sudesh Kumar had issued to 12 IPS officers, including himself.
Rejecting the certificates, the government collected the certificates of the 12 hopefuls directly from the Vigilance Department in the Secretariat.
Questions have been raised over Kumar issuing certificates to officers, who are being considered to replace Loknath Behera as the next State police chief, since he, too, is a contender. Incidentally, the officer himself had signed his certificate.
Kumar issued a 40-page detailed report on cases and investigations against the senior-most officer, Tomin J Thachankary, while the other officers were issued clean certificates. Their certificates carried a single line, saying they were not under any probe.
Following Kumar’s report, Thachankary reportedly complained to the chief minister that a deliberate move was on to sideline him. On receiving the complaint, the Department of General Administration (GAD) sought a report from the Vigilance Secretary.
Later, Inspector General of Police (Vigilance) H Venkatesh issued clearance certificates to all the 12 officers, based on DGP Behera’s directive. The Director-General of Police handed over the certificates to the Home Secretary, who after cross-checking with files in the Vigilance Department, forwarded them to the GAD.
The State will be sending the latest set of certificates to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) panel. Official sources said a fresh set of certificates was sought to avoid any complaints in the future.
Earlier, a row was sparked after the police headquarters held back a report Kumar had submitted against Thachankary. The headquarters had withheld the report for a month without informing the government. The propriety of Kumar signing his own clearance certificates was not questioned.
Meanwhile, it has been alleged that Thachankary’s certificate included the details of the probe into his alleged disproportionate wealth, seven previous confidential vigilance investigations against the officer, action was taken against him during the VS Achuthanandan-led government and the controversy over his foreign tour.
Those opposed to the vigilance director alleged that he had not mentioned an earlier vigilance probe against him. All these factors prompted the government to intervene in the issue.
Centre will consider IB report too
The State government has to submit the service history of officers, who are to be considered to be promoted as State police chief, in a prescribed form to the UPSC. The vigilance certificate is one among the many reports.
All documents, including the 10 years’ confidential annual service reports of each officer should be submitted online.
The State recommends 12 senior-most officers for the Centre’s consideration. The UPSC, after scrutinizing the reports, will shortlist three officers, and the list will be returned to the State.
A selection committee, which includes the State Chief Secretary and Home Secretary, will choose one from the three officers. Seniority need not be eligibility in selecting the State police chief.
The Intelligence Bureau (IB), too, has all the details of officers recommended to the top police post. So, the State cannot omit any detail from the reports it forwards to the Centre.
The IB has also collected the details of those IPS officers on the central deputation. This report will be handed over to the selection panel.
