EC Orders Removal Of Jharkhand DGP, Congress Demands Maharashtra's Ahead Of Elections
As Jharkhand is preparing for the assembly election scheduled for next month, the Election Commission on Saturday ordered the immediate removal of acting Director General of Police (DGP) Anurag Gupta. The poll body has cited a history of complaints against the DGP during previous elections.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Anurag Gupta was relieved of the charge of ADG (Special Branch) after favoritism allegations by the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), points out the EC. The officer was reportedly asked not to return to the state till the elections were on and was reassigned to the office of the Jharkhand Resident Commissioner in Delhi. The ruling JMM leader and the chief minister Hemant Soren had faced several charges and even a jail term for alleged money laundering earlier this year.
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The poll body has asked the state government to submit a panel of senior IPS officers to be considered for the post by 10 a.m. on Monday, and asked the state government to hand over charge to the senior most DGP level officer available in the cadre. The elections for the 81-member assembly will be held in two phases on November 13 and 20.
Notably, the opposition in Maharashtra, including the Congress party, has demanded the removal of Director General of Police Rashmi Shukla from her post during the upcoming polls to ensure “fair and impartial” polls in the state. Maharashtra also undergoes elections to choose representatives for its 288-member assembly.
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While raising conspiracy allegations regarding the opposition voters’ names being deleted from the list, the Congress party pointed out the instances where the DGPs of states were removed during the elections to ensure fair elections and slammed the election commission for not acting in Maharashtra. However, the EC has declined to change the DGP for the upcoming assembly elections in Maharashtra.
