Senior officers conspired against me: Ex-DGP

SHIMLA: A day after the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Shimla discharged him in much-hyped phone taping case, former Himachal Director General of police, Ishwar Dev Bhandari today lambasted the government and alleged that he was a victim of “conspiracy” hatched by some senior officers.

Former DGP ID Bhandari addresses mediapersons in Shimla on Thursday. Photo: Amit Kanwar

Tribune News Service

Shimla, May 26

A day after the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Shimla discharged him in much-hyped phone taping case, former Himachal Director General of police, Ishwar Dev Bhandari today lambasted the government and alleged that he was a victim of “conspiracy” hatched by some senior officers.

Talking to mediapersons here, Bhandari said the CJM in his order said that “prima facie” no case is made out against him and strangely, the investigating agencies which claimed that about 1,300 phones had been taped, mentioned only two cases in the challan filed in the court and in those two case also, he was not involved.

This speaks volumes about how some officers in the secretariat and police department misled the Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and managed to get him removed from the post of the DGP by fabricating the case against him, he alleged.

Bhandari said that even if the phones had been taped, the DGP was not involved in it and the matter was in domain of Inspector General of Police (IG) but he was targeted due to vindictive attitude of the government and faced harassment and remained busy in defending himself.

However, finally the truth has come out and the court had given him relief after protracted legal battle and his stand has been vindicated.

Bhandari said that under the police Act, no DGP can be removed before two years unless he is involved in a criminal case or is mentally sick but an IPS officer and another officer of Inspector rank misled the Chief Minister and it was propagated in the media that his (CM) phones were tapped during his visits to Chandigarh. He said that an officer of DIG rank, who claimed that hundreds of phones had been taped, was mainly instrumental in misleading the Chief Minister.

“I have worked with the Chief Minister and never had any problem with him but this time he was misled by some vested interests, who wanted to serve their own ends”, Bhandari said alleging that “hard working and honest officers are not being allowed to work and the present government is the most corrupt”.

Bhandari said “it was total vindication of his stand and finally I got justice but even after unblemished record of service for 30 years, I had to face humiliation”.

Asked whether he would take some legal action against the persons responsible for fabricating the phone taping case, Bhandari said that he would think about it.