Haryana: 9 months after ‘non-cadre, non-existing post’, IPS officer gets cadre post

The state government on March 3 had posted Kumar as IG (home guards). However, quoting the gradation list of IPS officers and the IPS 2017, (Fixation of Cadre Strength) Amendment Regulation of Haryana, Kumar in October informed the state government that it was not a cadre post in the state. He added that the home department has informed the Punjab and Haryana High Court in October this year that the post of IG (home guards) was never created by the state government.

On November 7, Home Minister Anil Vij called a meeting with top officers, including additional chief secretary (home) T V S N Prasad and DGP Shatrujeet Kapur in the presence of Kumar.

Two days ago, Kumar wrote a letter to the Vij seeking early implementation of the “decisions taken in the meeting while insisting on the need of cancellation of his illegal posting on a non-existent post”.

According to Kumar, it was decided in the November 7 meeting that his posting would be done on a cadre post in IG rank “as IPS officers cannot be posted on an ex-cadre post while cadre posts in that rank are vacant”.

Apart from Kumar, the state government Thursday issued posting and transfer orders of 12 more IPS officers.

A 2011 batch IPS officer, Rajender Kumar Meena, who had levelled allegations of harassment against a senior IAS officer recently, has also been posted on a cadre post — Superintendent of Police, (SP/Commando), Newal (Karnal). So far, he was looking after the assignment of Superintendent of Police (SP/IT) at Haryana Police Headquarters in Panchkula which was allegedly neither a cadre post nor an ex-cadre post.

Others who have been transferred include Ajay Singhal, who has been posted as ADGP (Railways and Commando), Panchkula. ADGP (Law and Order) Mamta Singh has been given the additional charge as ADGP, State Crime Branch.

Haryana State Enforcement Bureau ADGP A S Chawla has been given the additional charge as Director, Vigilance and Security while ADGP Charu Bali has been posted as ADGP, Recruit Training Centre (RTC), Bhondsi.

H S Doon has been given the charge of Inspector General (Law and Order) and IG Traffic, Karnal. IG of Haryana Armed Police, Madhuban, Kulvinder Singh has been given the additional charge as IG, State Crime Branch, according to the order.

Sangeeta Kalia has been posted as Superintendent of Police, RTC, Bhondsi. SP, Chief Minister Flying Squad (CMFS), CID, Tahir Hussain, who is a Haryana Police Service officer, has been given the charge of SP, Lokayukta. Other IPS officers who have been transferred are Mohit Handa, Medha Bhushan, Kuldeep Singh and Vinod Kumar.

An official monitoring the affairs of top bureaucrats claims that after Thursday’s posting/transfer orders, almost all cadre posts of the IPS officers have been filled in Haryana.

On his part, Kumar, currently an IGP rank officer, has also been seeking his promotion to the post of DIG with “retrospective effect” (January 1) of the year concerned (2015).

In fact, sources say, several IPS officers in Haryana have been promoted with “retrospective effect” (from January 1 of the respective year) even if the orders of promotions were issued after passing of some months. But more than them are those IPS officers, including Kumar, who were promoted with immediate effect which means their promotion will be counted from the date when the promotion orders were issued. As the alleged “discrimination” caused a heartburn among a few IPS officers, there have been voices to fix the same as they also want retrospective effect to their promotions.

In the November 7 meeting, sources say, the home minister was also informed how a top IPS officer succeeded in getting his date of promotion changed to January 1 (2015) after submitting a representation to the government. However, Kumar in his recent letter said that refixation of date of his promotion to January 1 is yet to be issued by the home department even after his representation to the government a year and a half ago.

The issue of “one officer, one residence” policy as ordered by the home minister earlier was also reportedly raised in the meeting chaired by Vij on November 7. Sources say that the minister was informed by an officer that at least five IPS officers were still occupying more than one official residence “in the garb of non-existential posts”.