PUNE, 17 September 2007 — Maharashtra state cadre Indian Police Service (IPS) officer and former director general of police, Punjab state, Swardeep Singh Virk, who was arrested last week on charges of amassing disproportionate assets to known sources of income by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau in New Delhi, will continue to remain in active Maharashtra police service as per the directives of the federal government.
A senior IPS officer said that in view of the federal directives, the issue would snowball into a major controversy with one side of the issue being questioned related to law and the other side that of morals. If Virk gets a posting, presently he is shown as on compulsory waiting, this would cause an upheaval in police circles, the official said.
According to state Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister R.R. Patil, Virk was sent on deputation to Punjab on the instructions of the federal government, which has again sent him back to his parent cadre Maharashtra.
Taking the federal government’s decision, Virk was asked to join the service in the state. “Even if the Punjab government had arrested Virk, it was their moral responsibility to inform us about the arrest. Since the Punjab government has failed on this aspect, therefore Virk would continue to be in active state police service,” Patil clarified.
Virk, a 1970 batch IPS officer, was decorated with the country’s highest Padmashri and President’s gallantry award for tackling terrorists in Punjab, in which he was seriously injured, after a bullet fired by terrorists grazed past his jaw.
According to seniority rules, he is tipped to be the next state director general of police. The present DGP Pavender Singh Pasricha is scheduled to retire in November. The Mumbai Police Commissioner Dhananjay Jadhav is also to retire in November.
