Bilkis Bano case: IPS officer sacked a day before retirement
Ahmedabad, Jun 7: Gujarat cadre IPS officer R S Bhagora, convicted (rpt convicted) in the 2002 Bilkis Bano case, was dismissed from service by the Union Home Ministry on May 30, a day before his retirement, a senior state government official said Friday.
The 60-year-old officer, who was to retire on May 31, was serving as Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) with the Ahmedabad police when his dismissal order came, said M R Soni, Deputy Secretary (Inquiry), Gujarat Home Department.
"The state Home Department had received a communication from the Union Home Ministry ordering dismissal of Bhagora from service on May 29.
"We had served the order on May 30, which effectively means he was sacked a day before his retirement," said Soni.
As per the government records, Bhagora, a state police service officer, was promoted to the IPS cadre in 2006.
The dismissal means Bhagora will not get benefits entitled to retired government employees.
In March this year, the Supreme Court had asked the Gujarat government to take disciplinary action against the erring police officials, including Bhagora, convicted by the Bombay High Court for dereliction of duty in the sensational Bilkis Bano gang-rape case during the 2002 riots in the state.
Among the erring police officials, four - a deputy superintendent of police, two inspectors and a constable - have already retired from service.
The Supreme Court had also awarded a compensation of Rs 50 lakh to Bano, who was gang-raped in Randhikpur village in Dahod district during the post-Godhra riots.
On Bano's request, the apex court had transferred the case to Mumbai in August 2004.
A special court in Mumbai had awarded life sentence to 11 men for raping Bano, who was five-month pregnant at the time of the crime, and murdering seven of her family members during the riots.
The trial court had acquitted five policemen, including Bhagora, who were booked for dereliction of duty in the high-profile case.
After their acquittal was challenged, the Bombay High Court had in 2017 reversed the lower court order and convicted these five policemen under sections 218 (not performing their duties) and 201 (tampering of evidence) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The Supreme Court had on July 10, 2017 dismissed the appeals of Bhagora and the other policemen against the HC order, saying there was "clear-cut evidence" against them.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Telangana CM urges Amit Shah to increase sanctioned strength of IPS officers in state
Hyderabad (PTI): Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Wednesday night and urged him to increase the sanctioned strength of IPS officers to the state in view of its growing administrative and security needs.
The two leaders also discussed the recent surrender of several senior Maoist leaders before the Telangana Police and other issues.
"During the meeting, the two leaders discussed the issue of Maoist surrenders and their rehabilitation. The chief minister informed Shah that significant improvements in policing have taken place in Telangana over the past two years," an official release here said.
Highlighting that 591 Maoists have laid down their arms and joined the mainstream of society during this period, the chief minister said the state government was providing them compensation and rehabilitation assistance as per the rules.
He requested the Union home minister to extend financial support from the central government for development works in the backward regions of the state.
Reddy also urged Shah to increase the sanctioned strength of IPS officers to the state from 83 to 105 in line with the state's growing administrative and security needs, the statement said.
The first cadre review after the formation of Telangana was conducted in 2016, while the next review, due in 2021, was delayed and finally carried out in 2025. Even then, only seven additional IPS officers were allocated to the state, the chief minister informed Shah and requested that the third cadre review be conducted in 2026 as per the schedule.
Reddy explained that Telangana, like the rest of the country, is facing several modern challenges, including cybercrime, drug trafficking, white-collar crimes, and other emerging security threats.
He highlighted the reorganisation of the Hyderabad, Cyberabad, and Malkajgiri Police Commissionerates, the proposed formation of the Future City Commissionerate and the rapidly growing population in Hyderabad to underline the increasing administrative requirements of the state.
