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Jat agitation violence: 13 Haryana officers suspended

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IANS Chandigarh

The Haryana government on Friday suspended three bureaucrats and 10 police officers for their role in February's violence during the Jat agitation for reservation.

Those suspended include three Haryana Civil Service (HCS) officers and 10 deputy superintendents of police (DSPs).

An official spokesman said that the HCS officers are Dharmender Singh, Pankaj Kumar and Jagdeep Singh.

"During the period of suspension, their headquarters would be in the office of chief secretary. They would not leave the headquarters without obtaining prior permission of the chief secretary," the spokesman said.

The DSPs suspended were posted in the violence-hit areas of Kalanaur, Rohtak, Meham, Beri, Hansi, Loharu, Gohana and Ganaur.

 

Though the Manohar Lal Khattar government did not specify it, the suspensions are linked to the submission of the inquiry report by the Parkash Singh Committee recently which had held at least 90 officers and officials of the civil administration and the Haryana Police guilty of not taking appropriate action to contain large-scale violence during the Jat agitation.

The Haryana government had on Tuesday replaced state Home Secretary P.K. Das with senior IAS officer Ram Niwas.

Though no official reason had been given for the sudden change, it is being linked to the administrative and police failure during the large scale violence in various parts of Haryana during the agitation.

The Haryana government had last month removed Director General of Police (DGP) Yash Pal Singhal and appointed IPS officer K.P. Singh in his place.

Shrikant Jadhav, the inspector general of police of Rohtak range, which was worst affected by the Jat agitation violence, was transferred and suspended in March following the violence.

A total of 30 people died and 320 were injured, including 72 personnel belonging to police and other security forces, during the agitation that affected over 10 districts in south and central Haryana.

The Haryana government last month ordered a judicial probe to unearth the "conspiracy" behind the violence during the agitation.

Industry body Assocham had pegged losses due to violence during the agitation at around Rs. 20,000 crore in the state.

--IANS

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First Published: May 20 2016 | 8:26 PM IST

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