P P Pandey,always religious,never in the limleight until now

Gujarat IPS officer Prithvi Pal Pandey has always been religious,even superstitious,his colleagues say

Gujarat IPS officer Prithvi Pal Pandey has always been religious,even superstitious,his colleagues say. Watched over by a priest associated with the VHP one day,escorted to court by Muslim men two days later,he has lately been the focus of more attention than he has ever known. There was a time when few of those he worked with would notice him.

Pandey was totally withdrawn from his work,but that was probably because of his wifes serious illness, says one of his superior officers,who has since retired as additional DGP. Even otherwise,Pandey wasnt someone who would crack big cases or do any significant work. His presence or absence never really made much difference to the force. He came into the limelight only after the 2002 riots.

Joint commissioner in the crime branch when Ishrat Jahan was killed,Pandey has been named by the CBI as a key conspirator. The Gujarat High Court has restrained the CBI from arresting him until Tuesday,when a decision on his anticipatory bail petition too is likely.

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Pandey had been declared an absconder before he resurfaced to be seen in the company of Swami Akhileshwardasji,who has called him a regular at his religious events,and the Muslim men,one of whom has described him as being like a father to him. Colleagues in Gujarat,on the other hand,say he has kept largely to himself throughout his career. They say he did not interact with them as easily as he did with his batchmates posted outside the state. Indeed,he has only one batchmate in Gujarat,Rajkot police commissioner H P Singh,who refused to respond to questions,saying he was busy. During the 90 days for which he could not be traced,Pandey apparently did not talk to a single IPS officer from Gujarat,though colleagues and friends say he did keep in touch with officers in New Delhi.

He opened up in front of juniors more easily than he did with those equal in rank. They recall how Pandey would hold discussions on international politics expert Hans Morgenthaus Politics among Nations. Pandey,who hails from Lucknow,is an MA in political science from Allahabad University; his other interests are history and law. Pandey sir has always been sophisticated, says an officer of DIG rank.

Of late,Pandey has visited a number of temples,mosques,and spiritual and healing centres. Says the swami,priest of the Ram temple at Saraspur,He is very religious and down to earth.

Pandey began as a deputy CP in Ahmedabad in 1980. Most of his postings crime branch,CID (Crime) which he headed,CID (Intelligence) have been in Ahmedabad or Gandhinagar; he served in Saurashtra in his early years. Living in Ahmedabad for 20 years has allowed him to attend to his wife,who remains ill.

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He has told this paper that he is a descendant of Mangal Pandey,the sepoy who revolted against the British in 1857. He has pledged to fight till the end.