LUCKNOW, June 6: In a strange reversal of fortunes, officials who were once regarded as social pariahs for ``perpetrating excesses on innocent Uttarakhand activists in Muzaffarnagar'' now enjoy plum postings.Three years back, these officials were scorned by the public and political parties including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). For several months they remained in the eye of the storm. They were even chargesheeted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).However, most of these officials are Chief Minister Mayawati's blue-eyed boys today. Overriding the initial objections of her coalition partners in the BJP, the Chief Minister has ensured that these officials bask in coveted postings.The BJP, which had once cried for the heads of the same officials, is now maintaining a stoic silence over the issue. During the chief ministership of Mulayam Singh Yadav, the BJP had stirred a hornet's nest over the mayhem at Rampur Tirha in Muzaffarnagar on October 2, 1993. The police were accused of ``brutally beating'' the Uttarakhand activists, several of whom succumbed to their injuries. It was also alleged that some of the women activists were raped by the security forces.The BJP's loud protests over the incident accrued to political benefits as the saffron brigade virtually swept the Assembly elections in the hill district, bagging 17 out of the total 19 seats. But today, although the ``tormentors'' of the Uttarakhandis enjoy plum postings despite being chargesheeted by the CBI, BJP leaders have chosen not to rake up the issue, perhaps in an attempt to avoid embarrassing Mayawati.Bua Singh, the then DIG (Meerut range) and prime accused in the Muzaffarnagar case, is now posted as the IG, Lucknow zone - a posting which is coveted even by senior IPS officials. Interestingly, although Mayawati carried out a complete overhaul of the bureaucracy and transferred some officials several times, Bua Singh remained ensconced at his post.Earlier, following the BJP's protests over Bua Singh's posting as IG, Lucknow during President's rule, Mayawati had assured them, soon after coming to power, that action would be taken against guilty officials in the Muzaffarnagar incident.But Bua Singh was untouched despite the fact that he was promoted to IG during President's rule in the State. Almost all the IPS and IAS officials in the State during that period have been shifted.Similarly, S P Singh, the then SP has been transferred as SP, Lakhimpur and Anant Kumar Singh, the controversial former district magistrate of Muzaffarnagar is now the District Magistrate of Jhansi. S M Naseem, the then IG (Merut Zone) has been given the key post of IG, Railways at Allahabad.With the exception of D D Sarswat, almost all the dozen or so officials who were chargesheeted by the CBI, are now in the good books of the BJP-BSP Government. The other accused officials enjoying coveted postings are: Vinod Kumar Pawar, Jay Prasad Sagar, Mahesh Kumar and G P Nailwal.
