Home Ministry asks state to act against senior cops

Balwant Garg

Tribune News Service

Faridkot, July 10

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs has asked the Home Department, Punjab, to take necessary action against some senior police officers in Faridkot for ‘intentionally’ not following the rule of law in taking action against a person who is accused of harassing an RTI activist.

Mukesh Sawhney, Under Secretary to the Government of India, has asked the Principal Secretary, Home Department, Punjab, to enquire into the matter and take necessary action against the police officers and send a detailed report in the matter to the ministry urgently.

It is alleged that the Faridkot police did not adopt the due legal course to prosecute an accused even after Justice Mehtab Singh Gill commission asked the state government for necessary action against the accused.

Justice Gill had even asked the government to compensate the victim adequately and recover the compensation amount from the police investigating officer.

Ordeal for the victim, Vipan Kaushal, an RTI activist, started in November, 2011, after he had exposed a scandal in the functioning of some private educational institutions.

He had unravelled how these institutions were preparing fake salary statements and submitting bogus record to various government departments to avoid their financial liabilities in this area.

After the exposure, Kaushal started facing the reprisal at the hands of some of the accused, allegedly in connivance with the police.

On the complaint of Shiv Shankar Mittal, the manager of Amaravati Memorial Public School, the police had registered a criminal case against Kaushal, slapping serious charges, including offence of forgery, defamation and possessing illegal weapons in December 2011.

The court acquitted Kaushal of all charges in November 2016.

Kaushal demanded appropriate action from the Home Department against Shiv Shankar Mittal for filing false complaints with the police and causing harassment to him for over five years.

On the directions of the Home Department, the Faridkot police started legal action against Mittal, but half-heartedly, revealed an order of Judicial Magistrate, First Class, in Faridkot, dated May 25.

While dismissing the police complaint against Mittal, the court of the Judicial Magistrate observed that the police did not adopt due legal course in filing this complaint.

Until the complaint is filed by the SSP or a person senior to him, it is not maintainable. Rather, the SSP has not been cited as a witness in the complaint, rendering it non–maintainable, without jurisdiction and not legal, observed the judge.

For the police not prosecuting the accused with true spirit, Vipan Kaushal approached the inquiry commission of Justice Mehtab Singh Gill and Union Ministry of Home Affairs. Justice Gill even issued directions to compensate Kaushal after recovering the compensation amount from police investigating officer, who registered the complaint against the RTI activist.