Days after the Election Commission of India (ECI) directed the transfer of the home secretaries in six states, including Uttarakhand, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the Uttarakhand Congress has requested that Director General of Police (DGP) Abhinav Kumar also be removed from his post, saying that his “closeness to the ruling party is well known”. “I would like to inform you that the present DGP of Uttarakhand State, Abhinav Kumar, before becoming the DGP, had been posted as Principal Secretary to the present Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and his closeness to the ruling party is well known,” Uttarakhand Congress president Karan Mahara said in a letter to the ECI. “It is also to be informed that last year in the state, the heinous murder case of BJP leader Ankita Bhandari was carried out in a resort and the involvement of the BJP leader’s son has been found in that murder. The investigation of Ankita Bhandari’s heinous murder case is still going on but the statement of the current DGP regarding the investigation, in which he has been found defending the government like the spokesperson of the ruling party, is against the dignity of his current post,” he added in the letter dated March 16. DGP Kumar refused to comment. Mahara further said that the local police play an important role in any election and in such a situation, the “loyalty of the present DGP of the state to the ruling party” raises questions on the fairness of the elections “and his continuing on the post raises the possibility of it hampering the Lok Sabha elections”. Earlier this month, the Congress had criticised the arrest of independent journalist Ashutosh Negi, calling it an attempt by the Dhami-led BJP government to “suppress the voice of the common man”. Negi had been frequently demanding “justice” for Bhandari. After the arrest, DGP Kumar clarified that Negi was arrested in connection to the FIR registered against him at Pauri police station on January 5 and that his arrest had no connection to the Bhandari case. “Those making unrestrained allegations against the police and government regarding Negi’s arrest are either driven by emotions or have personal agendas. There was no undue pressure on the Uttarakhand Police during the investigation of the Pauri Garhwal receptionist murder case. Both the government and CM Dhami have extended their unwavering support to us to act within the bounds of the law. The actions taken by the Uttarakhand Police were impartial and fearless,” Kumar said in a video statement. Reacting to the statement, Mahara said, “His statement seemed as if the spokesperson of BJP was speaking and not the director general of police of the state.” Meanwhile, senior IAS officer Dilip Jawalkar took charge as the new home secretary of Uttarakhand on Tuesday after Shailesh Bagoli was removed from the post on ECI’s instructions. The Election Commission later approved Jawalkar’s name from a panel of three names.
