Alleged casteist behaviour: Haryana IPS officer lodges complaint against DGP under SC/ST Act

AMBALA: A Haryana-cadre IPS officer has accused state police chief Manoj Yadava of trying to humiliate and harass him on caste basis, seeking the registration of a criminal case against him under the stringent SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

Inspector-General of Police Y Puran Kumar lodged the complaint against the Haryana DGP with Ambala Senior Superintendent of Police Hamid Akhtar on May 19.

In his complaint, he has sought the registration of an FIR against Yadava under the stringent Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities Act), 1989, saying the DGP has "some personal grudge" against him due to him belonging to a scheduled caste.

DGP Yadava has been "trying to harass, humiliate, insult, threaten and intimidate him in one or other way with discriminatory conduct," said Kumar in his complaint.

Kumar also accused Yadava of preventing him from entering a place of worship from August 2020 till date which, he said, amounted to "atrocity" and falls under the ambit of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities Act).

In his complaint, the officer alleged that he had visited a temple on August 3, 2020, situated inside the premises of Traffic police station Sahazadpur in Ambala.

Later, the DGP in a semi-official letter asked him to inform whether any prior sanction of the government was obtained before setting up the place of worship in the police station, he said in the complaint.

Kumar reasoned that similar places of worship also existed in other police premises throughout Haryana and most of which do not have any prior permission of the government.

"However, till date, the DGP, deliberately and intentionally, had not sought any comments from other police officers posted at different districts, ranges and commissionerates," he alleged.

The officer had written to the DGP on January 29 this year, informing him that the said temple at the Sahazadpur traffic police station existed since 2011, much before he was posted as the Ambala range IG.

He said he had written another letter in February this year to Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Rajiv Arora and provided him with the details of the case.

He requested the Ambala SSP to register an FIR under the relevant provision of the 1989 Act against DGP.