Pramesh S Jain
Two weeks after the State government suspended three senior IPS officers,including the then Bengaluru Police Commissioner,an Additional Commissioner of Police and a Deputy Commissioner of Police for failing to act on the stampede at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium,the Union government on Saturday accorded the suspension of the three IPS officers—B.Dayananda,Vikash Kumar Vikash and Shekhar H.T,upholding the government decision.
As many as 11 people were killed and over 65 people, including policemen, were injured during the chaos that broke out during the victory celebrations of the RCB team on June 4.
The suspension report was earlier submitted by the Karnataka government to the Centre for approval,which has now formally endorsed the action.
The Centre has conveyed its approval to the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms,thereby reinforcing the State’s move.
With the Central government’s approval,the ongoing probe into the stampede incident will be expedited to frame charges against the officers for further disciplinary action.
Terming it as a normal procedure,a senior police officer said the Central government,as part of the all-India service rules by the Department of Personnel and Training,has ratified the order.
“Suspension is not punishment,but a restraint order to enable inquiry to ascertain whether the suspended officials are guilty or not,”the officer said.
However,the decision has not only put the careers of the suspended officials on hold,but also embarrassed the State BJP leaders who protested against the government’s decision,alleging that the suspension was to shift the blame on the officials to cover up the government’s failure.
