Kanpur encounter: Letter by slain UP cop hints at insider sabotaging

Reshuffle on the cards?

Speculation about a cabinet reshuffle is gaining momentum. That Madhya Pradesh leader Jyotiraditya Scindia is keen to join the Union cabinet is an open secret. Sources said the reshuffle would be done with an eye on the Assembly polls due by May 2021. Elections are due in Assam, West Bengal, Puducherry, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. Of these, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rules Assam, and is keen on ensuring a win there. Some in the party believe the state unit should see a change of the guard for the BJP to retain power. Murmurs have started that Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal could be brought to New Delhi and Himanta Biswa Sarma made his successor. Sarma has been the face of the Assam government’s fight against Covid-19 and the attendant economic crisis. The party is also fighting hard to win West Bengal.

Uniting Brahmins

Former Union minister and Congress leader Jitin Prasada on Monday launched the Brahma Chetna Samvaad, with the objective of uniting the Brahmins of Uttar Pradesh. Prasada alleged the state government had tried to marginalise his community in the state. So the Brahmins were feeling “insulted” and “helpless”. Prasada, 46, said it would be his effort now to unite the community through social media. His move comes amid various efforts by the Congress to try and recapture its Dalit and Brahmin support base in the state. While Prasada spoke of uniting the Brahmins, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday posted data that showed a third of all atrocities on the Dalits in the country took place in UP.

Hint of a sabotage

Tongues have started wagging within the UP Police about the role of an insider sabotaging the raid on alleged mafia don Vikas Dubey, resulting in the death of eight policemen, including a circle officer Devender Mishra, late last week. Those theories gained credence on Monday when a letter — purportedly written by the late Mishra to a senior superintendent of police in March — surfaced. Among other things, Mishra had, in that letter, made serious allegations against Station House Officer Vinay Tiwari and his alleged links with Dubey, who continues to evade arrest. Tiwari was suspended on Sunday while three more policemen were placed under suspension on Monday. While some UP police officers hint that more such skeletons would tumble out of the force’s cupboards, some from the cadre were more vocal. Senior IPS officer Dharmendra Singh tweeted the contents of Mishra’s letter with the caption, “Suspension is nothing. This mole deserves nothing less than jail and immediate dismissal from the service. Each and every character involved in this scheming regardless of his rank must be held responsible setting a 'nazeer’ (an example) for all in uniform”.