RAJ KUMAR
Ranchi, June 8: The home department of Jharkhand dropped the departmental proceeding against ADG (training) Anurag Gupta, an accused of luring the then Barkagaon MLA Nirmala Devi and threatening her husband as well as former minister Yogendra Sao to vote in favour of the BJP candidate in the 2016 Rajya Sabha elections.
An order to this effect issued from the home department on Tuesday suggests so.
“During the 2016 Rajya Sabha elections in Jharkhand, the allegation of influencing the election by misusing the post and interfering with the exercise of the vote of the voters was prima facie found to be true. An officer was appointed to conduct departmental action in relation to the investigation of this allegation. In the investigation report, the allegations levelled against Gupta could not be proved. Therefore, the departmental proceeding has been disposed of by discharging the government Anurag Gupta, ” the order reads.
Gupta remained suspended for more than two years. On 14th February 2020, the Hemant government put him under suspension. At that time, he was the ADG (CID).
The case against Gupta arose after an audio tape was released by Babulal Marandi after the Rajya Sabha elections in 2016. In this purported tape, the conversation between ADG Gupta, then MLA Nirmala Devi, and her husband Yogendra Sao had come to the fore.
After the matter came to light, the entire matter was brought to the attention of the Election Commission of India.
After primary investigation, the commission had ordered to register an FIR. The government had then lodged a case on the statement of Awadhesh Thakur, the Under Secretary of the Home Department.
After the suspension of Anurag Gupta in February 2020, the state government had initiated departmental action, the responsibility of which was given to the then DGP MV Rao. MV Rao had given him a clean chit to Gupta.
Earlier, the Central Administrative Tribunal had directed to revoke his suspension.
