A PIL filed in the Bombay high court has sought the suspension of the four police officers who, as reportedly said by former commissioner of police Hasan Gafoor in an interview to a magazine, hesitated to respond at the time of the 26/11 terror attacks last year.
While the state government has sought an explanation from Gafoor about his statement made to the magazine that published his interview recently, the PIL filed on Tuesday has relied on media reports on Gafoor’s remarks and said that the officers named by Gafoor are “cowards and not competent” to handle 26/11-like situations.
Gafoor, now additional director general of police, housing, reportedly accused KL Prasad (then joint commissioner of police, law and order), Parambir Singh (then additional commissioner of police, ATS), Devendra Bharati (additional commissioner of police, crime) and K Venkateshan, (then additional commissioner of police, south region) of dereliction of duty.
The PIL filed by Andheri-based businessman Goldie Sud states that the four officers should not be allowed to continue in their posts and should be either transferred or suspended.
“The court should initiate an enquiry into the conduct of these officers,” Sud told DNA. He said that he will mention the PIL before the court on Thursday and seek a date for hearing. His petition has been signed by 50 other members of the general public, Sud said.
“If senior officers act like this what message will it send to the lower rung of policemen? If these officers would have been more accountable, some lives would have been saved in the terror attacks,” he said.
Sud has urged the court to direct the booking of these officers under section 304 and 304 (a) for culpable homicide not amounting to murder and stated that they should be put to trial before a court.
26/11 Report may be made public
After receiving flak from all quarters, home minister RR Patil is reportedly considering making the Ram Pradhan committee report public. “He will consult the chief minister about it, “ an official said. The home department believes that this move will reduce the media reports about infighting and factionalism in the police force.
Following Hasan Gafoor’s recent interview to a magazine and Vinita Kamte’s allegations against joint commissioner Rakesh Maria, the home department now wants to send out a message to the IPS officials reminding them about the standing orders regarding their relations with the media.
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