Jat stir: 3 HCS officers suspended

Don't want to miss the best from Business Standard?

Three Haryana Civil Service officers were today suspended, a week after government-appointed Committee report found "deliberate negligence" on the part of 90 officials, including IAS and IPS officers, during the Jat quota agitation in February.
The three officers who have been suspended are Sub Divisional Magistrate (Jhajjar) Pankaj Setia, SDM (Hansi) Jagdeep Singh and SDM (Gohana) Dharmendra Singh (currently posted as SDM Ferozepur Jhirka), official sources said today.
The decision to suspend these HCS officers was taken in the wake of adverse comments made by Prakash Singh Committee in its report against them, among other officers, they said.
On May 17, Haryana government had shunted out its Additional Chief Secretary (Home), P K Das, barely days after the former DGP submitted its report to Chief Minister Manohar Lal Kattar. Das was replaced by senior IAS officer Ram Niwas.

Around 90 officers were indicted for "deliberate negligence" during the Jat quota agitation by Prakash Singh Committee and adverse comments were made against them in its report submitted to Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on May 13.
The Committee was appointed on February 25 to inquire into the alleged acts of omission and commission by officials during the agitation From February 7 to 22.

The committee had inquired into the role of officers starting from the rank of Sub-Inspector to SP and Naib Tehsildar or duty Magistrate to the rank of Deputy Commissioner in the violence-affected districts of Rohtak, Jhajjar, Jind, Hisar, Kaithal, Bhiwani, Sonepat and Panipat.

Haryana government had faced strong criticism following eruption of violence and arson during Jat quota stir in February this year and about a month back appointed K P Singh as the new DGP of Haryana, removing Yashpal Singal from the post.
30 people were killed in violence and there was extensive damage to properties during the stir.