MUMBAI: The alleged extramarital affairs between state’s several senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officers of the ranks of director general of police, additional director general of police and inspector general of police, have tarnished the image of once reputed police force of the country.
Senior police officers are talking in hushed tones about the romance and extra-marital affairs between top men and women IPS officers, so much so that a senior additional director general of police (ADGP) is alleged to have stripped all the powers of a lady IGP working under him, because she was alleged to been having “close rapport” with a director general of police, and inviting him for functions without the permission of her superior, the ADGP, said a well-informed source.
Yet another IPS officer of the rank of additional director general of police was in the news recently after his alleged romance with a lady IPS officer of a deputy inspector general of police (DIG) level posted in Pune led to an alleged brawl between the wife of the ADGP and the DIG.
“What morals and examples these senior IPS officers are having when they are openly indulging in extramarital affairs and romance, and the government is turning a blind eye of this despite reports in the media,” said a senior IPS officer.
As it was not enough, another issue has put the state government in an embarrassing position. The Punjab government, it is learned, has sent a copy of the charge sheet against the senior most Director General of Police (DGP) S.S. Virk to the Maharashtra government.
According to police sources, the Punjab government has asked the state government to arrest Virk on various cognizable charges mentioned in the charge sheet that includes, corruption, illegal assets more than his income, funding a political party, and misusing his official position.
If Virk has to be arrested, then this would be a big blow to the image of the state government, but this is unlikely, as government may move the courts and bail him out temporarily from the situation. But with Lok Sabha elections approaching within three months time, and Virk set to retire in June this year, the Congress party-led Democratic Front government will play its cards and, if pushed against the wall by the opposition, may go in for the arrest of Virk, said a Congress leader.
In another development, dissident Congress leader and former Revenue Minister Narayan Rane met state Chief Minister Ashok Chavan at the latter’s residence in Mumbai yesterday morning. According to sources close to the Congress party, the initiative to invite Rane was taken at the behest of the chief minister, specially as Rane is all set to announce his next course of action today.
