A probe by the Chandigarh Police has indicted two of its inspectors for dereliction of duty after Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi got stuck in traffic during a personal visit to the city in April this year.
HT has accessed the inquiry report which was submitted to superintendent of police Vineet Kumar. The report has pulled up two traffic cops — Jaspal Singh and Shri Parkash — for dereliction of duty. The inquiry was ordered by senior superintendent of police (traffic) Shashank Anand after the goof up came to the fore.
CJI Ranjan Gogoi had visited Chandigarh on April 13 and was staying at a hotel in the Industrial Area. The same evening, he was to visit a house in another part of the city, Inspector Shri Parkash was deputed with his convoy to manage traffic.
However on way, the convoy kept getting caught at various intersections due to poor traffic management. During the return, the CJI’s convoy took a different route to the hotel.
The inquiry found that Shri Prakash swapped his duty with inspector Jaspal Singh without informing the higher authorities. While Shri Prakash was managing traffic for the UT administrator VP Singh Badnore’s convoy, Jaspal Singh did not turn up for his duty with the CJI’s cavalcade.
{{/usCountry}}The inquiry found that Shri Prakash swapped his duty with inspector Jaspal Singh without informing the higher authorities. While Shri Prakash was managing traffic for the UT administrator VP Singh Badnore’s convoy, Jaspal Singh did not turn up for his duty with the CJI’s cavalcade.
{{/usCountry}}The inquiry report states that Jaspal Singh made contradictory statements about the CJI’s visit, which nailed him.
“On the one hand, he (Jaspal Singh) is saying that he brought the VVIP from Sector 24 to the hotel, and on the other hand, he is saying that when he reached Sector 24, the VVIP had already left from there,” states the report. Jaspal Singh reportedly even failed to tell which route the convoy followed while returning to the hotel.
“Though Jaspal was not present at the hotel, he passed information to the SSP that the VIP has reached there (hotel),” says the report.
A senior official tasked with traffic management in the city said there was “no advance information with the traffic police regarding the VVIP’s visit to Sector 24”, because of which “some gaps were left in traffic management on the route”.
SP Vineet Kumar said the “system is being streamlined to avoid such a situation in future”. Another official, privy to the matter, said action will be taken against the two erring cops after following due procedure.