JOIN USPanel indicts 90 officials for Jat stir
As many as 90 officials have been found guilty of negligence during the Jat quota stir that led to large scale violence and arson in Haryana in February.
The Parkash Singh Committee instituted to pinpoint accountability and negligence on part of officials, recommend action against such erring officials, presented its nearly 450 pages report in 2 volumes to Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Friday. Most of the erring officials indicted in the report were posted in Rohtak district, which was the epicentre of the Jat agitation.
It now remains to be seen what action does the government take against all the erring officials. The Opposition Lok Dal, which has been demanding a fair probe by a retired judge of the high court, has discounted the report. The violence during the agitation had claimed 31 lives.
The Haryana DGP incharge during the quota stir was earlier replaced by a new DGP. The committee has indicted officers of various ranks, from sub-inspector, revenue officials, to police heads and deputy commissioners.
The report said certain policemen deliberately allowed protesters to go berserk leading to large-scale violence and arson. The second volume of the report, Parkash Singh said, is “confidential” as it deals with issues of intelligence in the run up to the protests.
The lack of precise intelligence input also resulted in the administrative machinery’s failure to deal with the situation. Role of officials in riot-hit districts of Rohtak, Jhajjar, Jind, Hisar, Kaithal, Bhiwani, Sonepat and Panipat were placed under scanner by the committee.
Chief Minister Khattar said: “The government would examine the report and would take appropriate action at the earliest.” The committee heard 2,217 persons from different walks of life.