NEW DELHI: The home ministry has called three IPS officers of West Bengal cadre on Central deputation, as part of an exercise to fix responsibility for the alleged lapses that led to Thursday's attack on BJP President J P Nadda's convoy near Kolkata, and sought the concurrence of West Bengal government in the matter by December 15.
The officers concerned -- Rajeev Mishra, ADG, South Bengal; Praveen Kumar Tripathi, DIG, Presidency Range; and Bholanath Pandey, SP, Diamond Harbour -- were directly in charge of Nadda's security detail at the time of the mob attack. While Nadda had escaped unhurt owing to his car being bulletproof, other BJP leaders like Kailash Vijayvarghiya were injured and their cars damaged.
The action against the West Bengal cadre IPS officers comes a day after the home ministry summoned the state chief secretary and DGP to New Delhi on December 14 for a discussion with Union home secretary Ajay Bhalla on law and order situation in the state. The West Bengal officials had however requested that their presence at the proposed meeting be dispensed with, saying that the state government "was already addressing the issue with the utmost seriousness".
A letter from the home ministry on Friday asked the West Bengal government to convey its concurrence for bringing the three-state cadre IPS officers on Central deputation by December 15, 2020, "failing which it will be presumed that the state government has no objection in the matter".
Predictably, the ruling party in West Bengal reacted sharply to the Centre's decision to suddenly call three IPS officers on Central deputation. Trinamool MP Saugata Roy insisted that the Centre could merely ask for names of officers to be sent on Central deputation, and the final authority to release them lay with the state. Another Trinamool MP Kalyan Ray, in a letter to home secretary Ajay Bhalla, alleged that the motive was to create pressure on the officers.
A senior home ministry officer told TOI that Rule 6 of IPS cadre rules requires a cadre officer to be deputed for service under the Central government with the concurrence of the state government.
However, the same rule adds that in the case of any disagreement, the matter shall be decided by the Central government and the state government concerned shall give effect to such a decision by the Central government.
"This means that after December 15, even if the state disagrees with the Centre's decision to call the three officers on Central deputation, it will have no choice but to relieve them," said an officer.
Incidentally, one of the officers called to serve on Central deputation, Rajeev Mishra from the 1996 batch, was seen in a video that went viral last year, touching West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee's feet as she fed him what looked like a piece of cake. Mishra was wearing his uniform in that video.
As for the other two officers, Tripathi belongs to 2004 batch of IPS and Pandey, to 2011 batch.
This is not the first time that such a dispute has arisen over Central deputation of an IPS officer. A few years back, such a disagreement had broken out between the Centre and Tamil Nadu government over deputation of then IPS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre, Archana Ramasundaram, to CBI. The Tamil Nadu government had suspended and charge-sheeted Ramasundaram for relieving herself for CBI deputation despite lack of concurrence from it. The Delhi High Court later held that the suspension and charge sheet against Ramasundaram, who retired as DG of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), was prompted by "legal malice".