For Amitabh Kumar Das, 1994 batch officer, even this double promotion has come with a further delay, that is, three months after the charges against him were quashed, by a notification dated April 27, 2017.
A Bihar cadre Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, denied seniority as he faced departmental proceedings for over 10 years, including the allegation that he sexually exploited a woman, has secured a double promotion after charges against him could not be proved.
For Shri Amitabh Kumar Das, 1994 batch officer, even the double promotion has come with a further delay, that is, more than three months after the charges against him were quashed by a notification, dated April 27 last. Shri Das, posted as SP-cum-assistant commissioner, civil defence, has now been promoted directly to the pay-scale of inspector general (IG) in the pay-band of Rs 37400-67000, with grade pay of Rs 8700, with effect from December 18, 2008.
His travails began in 2007 when a woman brought charges of ‘sexual exploitation’ against him. Das was commandant of Bihar military police-11 at that time and was posted at Jamui in south-eastern Bihar. At the behest of the state government, an inquiry was conducted against Das by the then superintendent of police (SP) of Vaishali (in north Bihar), Preeta Verma, who found the charges against Das to be false.
The government then ordered departmental proceedings against Das, who had charges of indiscipline and conduct unbecoming of an officer, adding, to the original charge leveled by a woman. Again, the then departmental inquiry commissioner and 1974-batch IAS officer S P Keshav gave Das a clean chit after the girl did not appear before him for 18 months, to back up her charges against the officer.
Later, in 2009, the government decided to go in for another departmental proceeding, which the officer challenged in the central administrative tribunal (CAT). The CAT, too, ruled in favor of Das and termed the government’s move as “misuse of procedure”.
Das had pleaded before the tribunal that the departmental proceedings against him had been started “out of vendetta”, being pursued, allegedly, by a former union minister from Bihar, after he (Das), as SP, railways, had hinted at wrongdoing in the award of railway contracts.
Four years later, in 2013, the government went into appeal against the CAT order, in the Patna high court, which was rejected on October 29, 2015. The Bihar government then moved the apex court, where its SLP was rejected by the double bench of Justice R K Agarwal and Justice Ashok Bhusan, last year.
Despite the apex court order, on September 30, 2016, there was no further movement on the matter for nearly six months after which Das moved a petition, seeking revocation of proceedings and promotion, as his batch mates have already become IG, while he remained SP. Das was earlier in the news as SP of Arwal in south-central Bihar, in 2005, when, in a report, he had recommended the slapping of POTA on Ranveer Sena, a private army of landlords, which is now defunct.
Das again kicked up a storm in November 2014, when as SP, Bihar human rights commission, he wrote a letter to IG (special branch) Jitendra Singh Gangwar, informing him of the alleged ‘cordial relations’ between a now union minister and the prescribed Ranveer Sena.
Basis his conversation with us today, he is expecting his posting this week. Best wishes from , now and always.
Original Source: HT
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