West Bengal government has decided to move Supreme Court over both the process of finalising the director general of state police by UPSC, and the CBI probe into post-poll violence.
"UPSC has no role over it. Selection of DGP is totally state's prerogative," said a state leader.
After DGP Virendra retired, Manoj Malviya, the senior most police officer of the state, took charge as the acting DGP yesterday. Virendra has been made the chairman of the West Bengal Police Recruitment Board.
A petition was also filed at the Calcutta High Court yesterday over the delay in constituting an SIT to look into not-so-grave incidents in the post-poll violence, which is to be monitored by a retired Supreme Court judge. While approving it, acting Chief Justice A.S. Bindal said that he was aware of it and would hear the matter soon. A five-member bench headed by him had ordered a court-monitored CBI inquiry of incidents grave in nature like murder and rape, during the post-poll violence.
If the apex court does not give the stay order, the CBI can continue with its probe as four joint directors and more than 120 officials are present in West Bengal.
The decision of the Centre to engage UPSC to make the choice of West Bengal DGP was first reported in THE WEEK in July. There was an intense tussle between the Narendra Modi and Mamata Banerjee governments over the issue, as the PMO decided to involve the UPSC. The state sent three names to the PMO, but the UPSC sent back the list, and instead, sought the bio-data, service report from chief secretery along with copies of ACR (Annual Confidential Reports) of each of 11 officers from 1986 to 1991 batches.
When UPSC submitted three choices to the DoPT (under the PMO), West Bengal government refused to accept any of them. The proposed names are Malviya, Suman Bala Sahoo (only woman DG rank officer in the state) and Adhir Sharma, DG railways. All others are either junior to them or will retire soon.