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.
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Assam Police at Pawan Khera's residence in national capital, Delhi Police assisting
New Delhi (PTI): An Assam Police team on Tuesday is at the Delhi residence of Congress leader Pawan Khera for questioning in connection with a case linked to allegations made against Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his family, official sources said.
The team formally informed Delhi Police upon arrival, following which a local police team joined and is assisting in the proceedings, the source said.
The development comes amid a political tussle after Sarma alleged that the Congress used "false information" sourced from a Pakistani social media group to level charges against his wife regarding multiple passports and overseas assets. He termed the allegations an attempt to influence the Assam elections and a punishable offence.
Khera had recently sought clarifications on Sarma's wife's alleged foreign assets, prompting a complaint and subsequent police action.
