Govt sees IPS officer’s act as ‘revolt,’ mulls action 

BENGALURU: Senior IPS officer R P Sharma’s letter highlighting political interference in policing has stirred up a hornets' nest in the state administration. As contents of the letter put Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in a spot, the government is contemplating action against Sharma for going public with his views. “Officers going to public with their views is against the service rules. The Chief Secretary has been directed to take appropriate action against the officer,” highly placed sources in the Home Department told The New Indian Express on Monday.

After contents of the letter that Sharma had written to the Chief Secretary became public, the Chief Minister got into damage control mode. He had convened two rounds of meetings with senior IPS officers, including the state police chief and the Home Minister. The officer's action is seen as an act of “revolt” and during the meeting, the CM expressed his displeasure. The Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) had on Sunday night maintained that the views expressed in the letter do not have the backing of the IPS Officers Association. Sharma, an ADGP-rank officer, is the president of the IPS Officers Association in Karnataka.

 However, officers in the know of the developments said before formally writing the letter to the Chief Secretary, its contents were circulated among the association members by mail and their suggestions were sought. “If the president of the association writes a letter to the Chief Secretary, it cannot be construed as his personal views,” said a senior officer, who refused to be named.

In his letter, sent on March 8, the IPS officer had stated that “investigation has been hijacked by the politicians in important cases and law breakers have lost fear of police…. The specialised agencies, headed by senior Indian Police Service Officers, have also become redundant on account of such interference.”
Such hard-hitting remarks from a serving officer has hit the government hard, especially in the backdrop of recent incidents, including the attack on the Lokayukta, assault on a youth by a Congress MLA’s son and a Congress leader threatening to set fire to a BBMP office.With elections scheduled to be held early May, the opposition was quick to latch on to the issue to target the government.

“The Chief Minister has no moral right to continue in the post,” said senior BJP leader and former Home Minister R Ashok. “The senior police officer himself has mentioned about political interference in the department and talking about deteriorating law and order situation,” he added.  When contacted by The New Indian Express, R P Sharma refused to speak anything about the letter stating that it was a confidential communication between him and the government.