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New twist to UP police recruitment scam

LUCKNOW: A new twist was added to the police recruitment scam in Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday when the State Home Department claimed that the selection of 18,844 constables in 2004-2006 was made for posts which had not been sanctioned (by the previous government).

The selection of around 17,400 recruits was cancelled by the Mayawati Government in October on charges of “irregularities in the selection process”.

Twenty-five IPS officers who were suspended for their alleged role were later reinstated by the Government.

The Home Department’s findings were placed before Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting presided over by Chief Minister Mayawati.

The decision to recruit constables on non-sanctioned posts was described by the Home Department as a serious irregularity.

Taking a strong view of the issue, the Cabinet decided to refer the matter to the three-member inquiry committee headed by the Chief Secretary, P.K. Mishra. The panel was constituted by Ms. Mayawati after the Shailja Kant Mishra Committee, on whose recommendations the police recruits were sacked and the IPS officers suspended, was wound up.

Cabinet Secretary Shashank Shekhar Singh told newspersons that the Home Department found that the posts did not exist on the day the recruitments were made. Mr. Singh said normally recruitments are made keeping in view the vacancies of the previous year.

However, in the present case despite there being no vacancies the selections were made in 2004, 2005 and 2006 on the basis of projected vacancies.

The Cabinet Secretary said the issue had been added to the terms of reference of the Chief Secretary’s panel.

The issue of recruitments on non-sanctioned posts of police constables did not form the terms of reference of the S.K. Mishra panel. It was much later that the Home Department claimed to have stumbled upon the alleged gross irregularity.

An official of the Chief Minister’s Secretariat said it was a “chance discovery” by the Home Department officials as they sifted through the files relating to recruitment of constables in 2004-2005. The official claimed that the Finance Department had objected to the procedure, especially the fixation and payment of salaries. He alleged that the process was manipulated.

The disclosure has been made on the eve of the State Government filing its affidavit in the Allahabad High Court, which is hearing the cases of recruitment and dismissal of constables. Hearing the cases on December 14, Justice D.P. Singh had directed the State Government to file an affidavit by December 19, 2007, explaining the reasons for revoking the suspension order of several IPS officers who were suspended in connection with these cases.

On the case pertaining to the dismissed cops, the Court directed the officers of the committee on whose report the appointment of about 22,500 police constables were cancelled, to file affidavits to resolve several issues framed by the Court.

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