VIJAY DEO JHA
Ranchi, July 6: The deck is now clear for the promotion of IPS Anurag Gupta to the rank of the Director General of Police. A couple of days back the promotion committee meeting chaired by Chief Secretary Sukhdev Singh recommended promotion of Anurag Gupta who is currently Additional Director General (training) of Jharkhand Police. Anurag Gupta, a 1990 batch IPS was reinstated on May 8 after 26 months of suspension.
One post of DG rank was vacant after the retirement of IPS A. Natrajan on May 31 who is 1991 batch officer. Now the recommendation of the promotion committee will be placed before Chief Minister Hemant Soren for his approval.
The Hemant Soren government suspended him on 14 February 2020 and started a departmental proceeding against him. He was suspended due to departmental proceedings, so he could not be recommended for promotion Notably, his batchmate Anil Palta and junior A. Natrajan were promoted to DG rank.
Later on, the Central Administrative Tribunal ordered the Jharkhand government to withdraw his suspension. The state government also dropped the departmental proceeding against him. He is 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.
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 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 a clean chit to Gupta.
