K'taka: Inspector, PSI suspended following arrest of constables selling drugs near CM's residence
Bengaluru top-cop issues memo to two DCPs for dereliction of duty
Bengaluru: Following the arrest of two police constables deployed for CM security over their involvement in drug peddling, the City Police Commissioner has also suspended two other officers including an inspector for dereliction of duty.
The city's top-cop Kamal Pant has also issued a show-cause memo to two DCPs in the matter.
RT Nagar Police Inspector Ashwadh Gowda and PSI Veerbhadra have been suspended from the duty pending enquiry.
Additionally, the Commissioner has also issued a memo to Bengaluru East DCP Srinath Joshi seeking a reply on deploying the accused constables at CM's residence without history-checking them before clearing for deployment. CM Security personnel's supervisor and VIP DCP Manjunath has also been served the memo seeking a reply for dereliction of duty.]
On Tuesday, the city police had arrested two constables deputed for the security of CM Bommai for peddling drugs near the CM’s official residence in the city. They were also reportedly extorting money from drug peddlers.
The arrested policemen have been identified as Shivakumar and Santosh. They were attached to the Koramangala Police Station and were deputed as the security officers at CM’s residence in RT Nagar.
“The policemen used Dunzo, a parcel service, to procure the drugs. They used to find a location near the chief minister’s house to conduct sales so nobody would suspect them,” Hindustan Times reported one of the police officials privy to the matter, as saying.
According to the reports, the matter came to light when the two cops got into a heated argument with the supplier. When the fight got louder, other policemen arrived and checked the two constables and found drugs on them.
The two constables later confessed to the crime. “The drug dealers working with the constables were identified as Amjad Khan and Akhil Raj. They have been taken into custody,” said police.
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HC to decide if gram panchayat members can continue in Manipur post tenure: SC
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Thursday said the high court would decide whether the elected gram panchayat members, whose five-year tenure was over in Manipur, were entitled to continue in their posts in the event of the appointment of an administrative committee or an administrator.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh said it would like to have the benefit of the view of the high court in the matter and set a three-month time frame to adjudicate the legal question.
"The question that falls for consideration in this case is that whether the elected member of the Gram Panchayat whose five-year tenure is over was entitled to continue as members of the gram panchayat in the event of appointment of administrative committee or administrator, as contemplated under Section 22 of the Manipur Panchayati Raj Act of 1994," the bench noted.
The Manipur government’s counsel said the state could not hold panchayat elections due to the unprecedented violence.
"Since, we would like to have the advantage of the opinion of the high court, we dispose of the special leave petition without expressing any opinion on merits, with the request to the chief justice of Manipur High Court to post the main case before a division bench at the earliest. We further request the division bench, before whom the matter is listed, to provide expeditious hearing with an endeavour to resolve the controversy within three months," the bench said.
The bench noted that provision of Manipur Panchayati Raj Act was amended to substitute the word "cease" with the word "continue" with respect to the tenure of the elected members of the gram panchayat.
The petitioners have challenged a high court order and submitted that since elections in gram panchayat could not be held in Manipur for various reasons, the previously elected members of the panchayat were entitled to continue as per the amended Section 22 (3) of 1994 Act.
Section 22 deals with the power of deputy commissioner to appoint an administrative committee or an administrator for a period of six months, which will then oversee the election.
Section 22 (3) of the law says once the administrative committee or an administrator is appointed by the deputy commissioner, the elected members of earlier gram panchayat shall cease to exist.
The top court said what has been challenged before it was an interlocutory order of the high court and the main petition in which the question of law that had been raised was still pending.
The original petitioners before the high court were elected representatives at the fifth general elections for gram panchayats and the zilla parishads who sought a direction to continue in the office beyond the period of five years as stipulated by law as elections were last held in 2017.
They sought to continue as panchayat members till the time the state election commission notified the election for the sixth general elections for gram panchayats and zilla parishads.
On February 29, last year, the high court in its interim order gave liberty to Manipur government to appoint an administrative committee for each gram panchayat and zilla parishad in accordance with law and the provision of the Act.
