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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England considering Ben Stokes for white ball captaincy
London (PTI): England's Test captain Ben Stokes is being considered as a potential replacement for Jos Buttler as the limited-overs skipper with ECB’s director of men’s cricket, Rob Key emphasising that it would be "stupid" not to explore the option, given his leadership qualities and the need to revive England’s struggling white-ball setup.
Stokes, 33, has not played ODIs since the 2023 World Cup, where he reversed his initial decision to retire from the format.
His Champions Trophy return was marred by a second hamstring tear in six months, sustained during the third Test against New Zealand.
"I think nothing's off the table really," Key was quoted saying in ESPNCricinfo. "You look at every single option and you think, right, what is the best thing to do? How is that going to impact on other things?
"Ben Stokes is one of the best captains I've ever seen. So it would be stupid not to look at him. It's just the knock-on effect of what that means.
"He's an unbelievably good tactician, which we've seen in Test cricket, but he's a leader of men. He's someone who gets the best out of people. He's someone that, when the pressure is really on, he's able to throw a blanket around the players and actually say, 'no, no, this is the way forward. Keep going with it'."
Stokes is currently in Abu Dhabi recovering with an England Lions training group and is expected to be fully fit for the summer with Durham.
Key, who was also in the UAE, believes Stokes has the ability to rejuvenate the ODI team, just as he did with the Test side.
"They're the qualities that you need in leadership. Ben's, as we know, an outstanding player, an outstanding leader. It's more about, what would that then mean to him? What would that then mean to his workload?
"We don't want to risk other things as well. But there's always a way in England, I think, where you start looking at, 'what if it goes wrong?' You've also got to think, 'what if it goes right?'. They're the decisions that I have to make."
Stokes’ rapport with Brendon McCullum, now overseeing England’s entire setup, may add weight to the idea.
Citing example of Team India model, Key believes Tests and ODIs share a strategic similarity that would work for Stokes.
"When you start looking at it, I believe that Test cricket and 50-over cricket are probably closer than T20s, which is the outlier now. So then that makes different things. We look at India and the way they play T20 cricket, and they've got all these young players coming through, but it's their Test players that are making the difference in 50-over cricket."
But it remains to be seen how injury-prone Stokes manages the demanding schedule.
England face India and Australia in crucial Test series this year, and would play ODI series against West Indies (May into June), South Africa, Ireland (both in September) and New Zealand (ahead of the Ashes).
