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Haryana IAS officers slug it out in public, both booked by police
Home minister Anil Vij steps in, shows up at DCP office to back Ashok Khemka and get an FIR registered
Two Haryana IAS officers are at loggerheads with each other. And it has taken an intervention from no less than state’s home minister Anil Vij to set off registration of a first information report (FIR) against one and a counter criminal case against the other.
Six days after managing director of the Haryana State Warehousing Corporation (HSWC), Sanjeev Verma sought registration of a criminal case against his senior IAS colleague Ashok Khemka and three others for allegedly making appointments in HSWC in an illegal and arbitrary manner, the Panchkula police on Tuesday registered a criminal case against Verma for making a false charge of offence and framing an incorrect document with intent to cause injury.
But by evening, the police, in an apparent attempt to balance things, also acted on Verma’s complaint and booked Khemka under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and for cheating.
Cops commit gaffe by not taking prior approval
The police, however, seem to have made an omission by not taking prior approval of the state government by registering a criminal case against Khemka and retired HSWC official under the PC Act.
Section 17-A of the Act says no police officer shall conduct any enquiry, inquiry or investigation into any offence alleged to have been committed by a serving or retired public servant under this Act where the alleged offence is relatable to any recommendation made or decision taken by such public servant in discharge of his official functions or duties, without the previous approval of the state government.
DCP Mohit Handa did not respond to the calls made in this regard.
FIR and counter FIR
Verma, a 2004-batch IAS officer, was booked under Sections 167, 182, 195-A, 198, 211, 218, 120-B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at Sector 5 police station following a complaint by Khemka and subsequent intervention of Haryana home minister Anil Vij.
The IPC Sections invoked in the FIR against Verma and one Ravinder Kumar pertained to public servant framing an incorrect document with intent to cause injury, threatening any person to give false evidence, false information, with intent to cause public servant to use his lawful power to the injury of another person, using as true a certificate known to be false, making a false charge of offence with intent to injure, public servant framing incorrect record or writing with intent to save a person from punishment or property from forfeiture and criminal conspiracy.
Khemka, a 1991 batch officer in the grade of additional chief secretary, former HSWC manager Som Nath, former assistant manager SC Kansal, and former assistant Naresh Kumar were booked under Section 420 of the IPC for cheating and Section 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act (criminal misconduct by a public servant).
Vij, who went to the office of Panchkula deputy commissioner of police (DCP) Mohit Handa to push for registration of FIR against Verma, said: “I have given directions to the DCP to register an FIR on the complaint given by Ashok Khemka.”
“He told me that the police were not registering the case. When a common man’s FIR can get registered, why is it not possible to initiate action on an IAS officer’s complaint,” he added.
Panchkula commissioner of police Hanif Qureshi said, “The complaint was given last night by Khemka and directions have been given on Tuesday to register an FIR.”
The FIR lodged on Khemka’s complaint said Sanjeev Verma has filed a false and mischievous police complaint on April 20 against Khemka.
It said as per the complainant, the allegations are an act of personal vendetta on the part of the two officers, who “nurse personal malice against me because of certain actions taken in official capacity in the past”.
