Haryana Home Minister Vij seeks disciplinary action against state CID chief

Amid a tug-of-war with Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar over the charge of the Criminal Investigation Department in Haryana, Home Minister Anil Vij has sought disciplinary action against the state chief of the agency.

Vij has shot off a letter to the state home secretary in this regard, sources said on Monday.

The minister has demanded that state CID chief Anil Rao, who is an ADGP-rank officer, be replaced by Shrikant Jadhav, another senior IPS officer.

Vij had recently told Rao that "he was not satisfied" with a report sent by him.

Though Vij had not disclosed what information was sought by him, sources said it pertained to the state assembly polls held in October last year.

This was not the first time when Vij had shown his displeasure over the working of the state intelligence department.

Earlier too he had raised serious questions over its functioning.

Recently, he had announced to set up a three-member panel headed by state Home Secretary Vijai Vardhan to suggest ways to improve the working of the department.

The minister had also expressed his dismay when he was not kept in the loop while the chief minister's flying squad undertook surprise checks at offices of the Regional Transport Authority offices.

The rising tensions between the minister and the state CID chief had triggered a tug-of-war between Vij and the chief minister over the control of the department.

Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar had recently said the CID remained under the chief minister's charge during the terms of Bansi Lal and Devi Lal, an assertion that appeared to counter the home minister's claim over the department.

Khattar, however, had sought to play down the row.

Vij had taken exception to two state government websites that showed that the CID was held by Khattar.

"Governments are not run by websites. They are run by the rule of law," Vij had said.

When recently asked if grounds were being prepared to take away the CID from him, Vij told reporters in Ambala, "The chief minister is supreme. If he wants to divide a department, he can do that; if he wants to take away a department, he can do that. I never raised any objection to this."