Uttarakhand CM suspends senior Home Guards Officer over alleged uniform procurement irregularities
Dehradun: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Tuesday ordered the immediate suspension of Deputy Inspector General and Deputy Commandant General (DCG) Home Guards Amitabh Srivastava over alleged financial irregularities in the procurement of uniforms in the Home Guards and Civil Defence department.
The chief minister also directed the constitution of a joint inquiry committee to investigate the matter, which pertains to the 2024-25 financial year, as reported by Hindustan Times. Officials said uniforms worth around ₹1 crore were allegedly procured at an inflated cost of nearly ₹3 crore, causing a substantial loss to the state exchequer.
The irregularities came to light after Director General of Home Guards PVK Prasad noticed that a fresh tender for 2025-26 had been floated at the same inflated rates. The DG cancelled the tender and ordered a departmental inquiry, which found that Srivastava had allegedly colluded with a contractor to manipulate the tender process and procure uniforms at nearly three times the market price.
Based on the inquiry findings, the DG recommended strict action, including registration of a criminal case and recovery of ₹2 crore. He said the report was forwarded to the state government for further action after the inquiry established a financial loss of around ₹2 crore.
Officials said the tender process was allegedly structured to favour a particular contractor and was halted once the discrepancies were detected. Following the inquiry, the department stopped further procurement of uniforms through the tender route and is considering providing a uniform allowance directly to Home Guard personnel to purchase their own uniforms.
A senior government official said the suspension was ordered on the DG’s recommendation, along with the formation of a joint inquiry committee to conduct a detailed probe into the matter.
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Hemant Karkare dying at hands of Kasab ‘Karmic Justice’: Shefali Vaidya on Col. Purohit’s promotion
Shefali Vaidya’s ‘karmic justice’ remark on Hemant Karkare sparks controversy.
Columnist Shefali Vaidya said that the death of former ATS chief Hemant Karkare was “almost karmic justice,” while expressing support for the promotion of Shrikant Purohit.
In the post, she wrote, “Col Purohit to be made Brigadier! This is the least Indian Army could do to restore the honour of an officer who was wrongly accused, framed on false charges, tortured beyond imagination and lost many years of his life thanks to anti-national, evil Congress.”
She further stated, “the way Maharashtra ATS Hemant Karkare died at the hands of Kasab was almost karmic justice, for having tortured Col Purohit, Sadhvi Pragya and others in the fake Hindu terror case. Ditto for disgraced cop Parambir Singh!”
Her post came after reports that Colonel Purohit, who was acquitted in the 2008 Malegaon blast case last year, has been approved for promotion to Brigadier.
Defence sources cited by Indian Express had indicated that less than a month after his retirement was put on hold by the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT), he has been approved for promotion to Brigadier.
According to the report, he will now continue in service for at least two more years, up to the age of 56, which is the retirement age for Brigadiers, compared to 54 for Colonels.
Purohit had reportedly approached the AFT, stating that the 17-year-long trial had affected his career progression and denied him the opportunity to be considered for promotions.
Though he was granted bail in 2017, he remained under a Discipline and Vigilance (DV) ban, which was lifted in July 2020. Due to this, his promotion to the rank of Colonel was reportedly withheld in 2021.
The controversy around remarks on Karkare is not new.
Earlier, YouTuber Dhruv Rathee had highlighted instances of social media users allegedly making derogatory comments about the slain officer.
Hemant Karkare, a 1982-batch IPS officer, served as the chief of the Mumbai ATS and led the investigation into the 2008 Malegaon blasts. He was killed in action on November 26, 2008, during the 2008 Mumbai attacks while responding to terrorist activity near Cama Hospital. He was posthumously awarded the Ashoka Chakra in 2009.
According to the Mumbai Police chargesheet, Karkare, along with Additional Commissioner of Police Ashok Kamte and Inspector Vijay Salaskar, was killed in an exchange of fire with Pakistani terrorists, including Ajmal Amir Kasab and Abu Ismail Khan.
The officers were ambushed near Rang Bhavan Lane while moving towards Cama Hospital.
According to a report by India Today, BJP leader Pragya Singh Thakur had earlier claimed that Karkare died as a result of a “curse,” while Maharashtra Leader of Opposition Vijay Wadettiwar had alleged that an “RSS-linked cop” was responsible for Karkare’s death, citing claims from a book by S.M. Mushrif.
