Patna: Bihar’s controversial Director General of Police, Gupteshwar Pandey, has utilised the very springboard offered to him by the Nitish Kumar government and has appeared to launch himself firmly into electoral politics.
Pandey took voluntary retirement from service for the second time in his career on September 22.
“As a result of voluntary retirement being granted to DGP Gupteshwar Pandey with effect from 22.09.2020, Sanjeev Kumar Singhal is given additional charge of Director General of Police till further orders,” reads the home ministry’s order.
As the copy of the government order began circulating on social media on the evening of September 22, Gupteshwar Pandey’s own PR machinery swung into action. On his Facebook page, Pandey informed his followers that he would go live on the evening of September 23 and share the story of his struggles.
Next, he shared the link of an hour and a half long interview he gave to a Delhi-based news website. He had been sharing snippets of the interview on his page for the past few days.
Also read: The Curious Case of the Bihar Top Cop in the Limelight Since Actor Sushant’s Death
Not only this, on September 22, Thakur also shared the link to a song on his Youtube channel citing ‘public demand’. A teaser of the song had been doing the rounds on social media. It said Gupteshwar Pandey was the ‘Robin Hood’ of Bihar. The song has been composed and sung by Deepak Thakur. In Western folklore, Robin Hood is hailed as the heroic outlaw who stole from the rich and gave to the poor. Pandey, who has been serving in the police since 1987, may wonder why he would think of himself as Robin Hood.
A few days ago, Pandey met Janata Dal (United) president of Buxar district, Vindhyachal Kushwaha. When Kushwaha was asked about Pandey, he reportedly said, “Gupteshwar Pandey is a good man. He is welcome, if he joins the party.”
Pandey, on the other hand, denied that he would be contesting elections and said these were ‘rumours’.
But his flurry of activities on social media, so close on the heels of his VRS order, makes it obvious that he has been attempting a fine curation of his public image.
DGP Pandey on an inspection. Photo: Twitter/@IPSGupteshwar
Does the Bihar government favour Pandey?
Gupteshwar Pandey’s tenure was scheduled to end in February next year. Therefore, his decision to opt for VRS just weeks before the assembly elections strongly suggests that he may contest the polls.
So far, the kind of comments he has made regarding the Bihar government, especially Nitish Kumar, suggests that he may enter the fray on a JD(U) ticket.
Pandey had earlier taken voluntary retirement in 2009. At that time, he is said to have expressed the wish to contest the Lok Sabha elections from Buxar on a BJP ticket. At the last moment, however, the BJP fielded Member of Parliament, Lalmuni Chaubey.
Pandey decided to return to the IPS after nearly nine months of stepping down. The Bihar government reinstated him to his earlier post without raising any objection, in what appeared to be the ‘rarest of rare cases’ in the history of the police department.
A document that surfaced on social media shows that he had applied for VRS on February 27, 2009, and it was accepted on March 15.
According to the document, Bihar’s home ministry received a letter from Gupteshwar Pandey dated March 24, 2009, requesting the reinstatement of his job.
The same day, the Principal Secretary of chief minister Nitish Kumar also received a letter written on March 21. However, the procedure of voluntary retirement had been completed before the letter was received.
“Returning to duty after implementation of retirement is not possible as per rules and regulations,” the document further reads.
This begs the question as to which law was used to get Pandey reinstated. Despite all controversies, he was promoted several times after his return to duty.
An IPS officer who allegedly took VRS to contest the Lok Sabha polls on a BJP ticket is certainly not neutral. Yet the Nitish government not only reinstated Pandey but also promoted him to the highest post in the state police force.
In 2009, his reinstatement had stirred outrage and controversy. This year, the hastiness of the decision to grant him VRS has done the same.
Experts believe that the Bihar government has relieved him of his services by sidestepping rules and regulations. Speaking to The Wire, senior IPS officer and former director of the National Police Academy, Shankar Sen says, “IPS officers cannot be granted VRS immediately. A default procedure is followed.”
“After the application for VRS is placed before the state government, it scrutinises whether the applicant officer is the subject of any ongoing investigation or whether they have been involved in any wrongful activity during their tenure,” says Sen.
“The state government then forwards the application to the central government,” adds Sen. “After receiving approval from the Centre, the process of VRS is completed. The entire process takes about 3-4 months to complete.”
Bihar DGP Gupteshwar Pandey. Photo: Twitter/@IPSGupteshwar
Obvious political leanings
Pandey’s active role in the Sushant Singh Rajput death case and his use of rhetoric leaves little of his political bias to imagination.
Although it is natural for an IPS officer to have an affinity towards a political party, it is crucial for a person holding an office not to turn into a mass leader but uphold the dignity of the constitutional position, in this case, that of a police officer.
But Pandey has repeatedly made statements like a politician, especially in the case pertaining to the actor’s death.
Every other day, he appeared in debates on news channels. Commenting on Sushant’s partner Rhea Chakraborty, he made the controversial ‘aukaat’ remark, stating that she did not have the stature to question Nitish Kumar.
Referring to Sushant Singh Rajput as the ‘son of Bihar,’ he had called for justice for the late actor. He even claimed that Nitish has entrusted him with the task of presenting Bihar government’s stance on the issue.
Bihar DGP Gupteshwar Pandey. Photo: Twitter/@IPSGupteshwar
IPS officers find this unusual and a departure from norm. “A DGP should not make such remarks,” says Shankar Sen. “It is absolutely wrong. The kind of rhetoric he has resorted to and his hyperactivity is absolutely wrong. It goes against the rulebook of government service.”
Meanwhile, Pandey told reporters on Wednesday, “I have been getting thousands of calls for the past two months asking when I am taking VRS. There were also reports in local media that I may contest elections on the ticket of this or that party. It sent across a wrong message among the public. Thus, I thought that if I continue on this post of DGP during the assembly polls, my neutrality will be questioned. Therefore, I took VRS.”
On the question of contesting elections, he said, “I have not decided it yet. But if I am advised, I may decide to join politics. Politics is an important medium to serve [the people].”
When asked as to whether he had derived political mileage out of Sushant Singh Rajput’s death, Pandey said, “Only those who are scared of me are saying such things.”
Also read: Fraud in Bihar Police Recruitment May Be Nitish Kumar’s Vyapam Moment
Pandey’s tryst with controversies
Pandey’s kinship with controversies is nothing new.
On September 18, 2012, while he was posted as IG of Muzaffarpur, a teenager Navaruna Chakraborty was abducted from her home. The investigation was later handed over to the CBI.
The minor girl’s father, Atulya Chakraborty, had expressed suspicion of Pandey’s involvement in the kidnapping. Speaking to The Wire, Atulya Chakraborty had said, “We had asked the CBI several times to interrogate Gupteshwar Pandey and other officers. But the CBI investigating officer told us that since Pandey is an IPS officer, they needed solid evidence to interrogate him.”
“Later, the CBI did question Pandey. This means the CBI had evidence against him,” added Chakraborty. Documents submitted by the CBI in the court state that the CBI officials had questioned Gupteshwar Pandey.
The document obtained by The Wire states, “Inquiries have been made of Jitendra Prasad, the officer-in-charge of the police station directly involved and the investigating officer of the case, then SP of Muzaffarpur who is currently the DIG and Gupteshwar Pandey, who is currently the DG.”
While stationed as DIG of Tirhut Division, Pandey was seen showering currency notes on a Bhojpuri singer at an event.
The politics of Bihar and IPS officers
The induction of IPS officers into politics is a long-standing tradition in Bihar. In August this year, retired DG (Home Guards and Fire Services) Sunil Kumar joined the JD(U).
It is speculated that he may also contest in the upcoming assembly polls. His brother, Anil Kumar, is a Congress MLA from Bhore constituency.
D.P. Ojha, who was the DGP in 2003, contested the 2004 general elections from Begusarai, but forfeited his security deposit.
Former IG Balveer Chand also contested the 2004 Lok Sabha polls from Gaya on a BJP ticket, but lost.
Similarly, former IG, Lalit Vijay Singh, contested on the Janata Dal ticket in 1989 and won.
Yet it is clear that Pandey is distinct from his counterparts when it comes to political participation.
Senior RJD leader Shivanand Tiwari told The Wire, “Joining politics must have been his original aim and with this in mind, he used his position as DGP to gain footing.”
“The haste with which his VRS application was accepted without any investigation shows that the government favours him. Everything is possible in ‘good governance’,” adds Tiwari, making a reference to the phrase used to laud Nitish’s style of governance and functioning.
The writer is an independent journalist.
Translated from the Hindi original by Naushin Rehman.