WEDNESDAY, JULY 03, 2024
Team Herald
PANJIM: The Goa government is now moving towards relieving ‘controversial’ Director General of Police (DGP) Jaspal Singh, IPS, ostensibly after a report sent by the Anjuna PI to the Chief Secretary alleging that the DGP threatened and pressurised him to demolish a house at Assagao, last week.
According to reliable official sources, the government has started the process to relieve him and has also written to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), New Delhi, to transfer him.
At the same time, the government has asked The Inspector General of Police (IGP) Omvir Singh Bishnoi, who is currently on vacation in USA, to report for duty immediately.
The 1996-batch IPS officer Singh was posted as DGP Goa following his promotion, in April 2022. He succeeded I D Shukla, who retired on March 31, 2022. Earlier, he had served as IGP Goa from June 2017 to July 2020, before his transfer to Delhi, on promotion.
The role of the DGP Singh came under scanner following outcry over the demolition of a house at Assagao by a builder by using bouncers. During the inquiry conducted by the Chief Secretary P K Goel, PI Prashal Dessai submitted his report stating that he was allegedly threatened and pressurised by the DGP, to demolish the house.
PI Dessai in his ‘factual report’ stated that on June 22, he received a call from the DGP, stating that anyhow the work of the demolition of the house must take place and that no one should stop the said work.
However, DGP Singh has refuted the allegations levelled against him stating that they were completely baseless, invented and preposterous.
The Congress party has demanded that the State government should relieve DGP Jaspal Singh of his duties, and to hand over the case to the CBI for further investigations.
