Senior IPS officer Basant Rath files complaint against Jammu and Kashmir DGP Dilbag Singh

A top IPS officer has kicked up a storm in Jammu and Kashmir by filing a complaint against his own boss, the Director General Police (DGP), asking the police to take cognizance of the alleged threat given to him by the top cop.

Basant Rath, a 2000 batch IPS officer, presently posted as IGP Home Guards in the Union Territory, filed a written complaint against DGP Dilbag Singh in Gandhi Nagar Police Station.

“I am writing to you to take note of my genuine apprehensions about my safety and reputation. I am doing it as a private citizen of this country. Not as a civil servant. Not as a police officer,” the complaint, a copy of which lies with the DH, reads.

“I am not asking you to lodge an FIR against the person mentioned above (DGP Dilbag Singh). I am just asking you to make this letter a part of the daily dairy in your station. Today. Now. In case something bad happens to me, you should know whose number you should dial. With due respect,” it adds.

Rath, who is known for multiple run-ins with his seniors, has also marked a copy of the complaint to the DGP as well.

“I expect you to acknowledge this letter. You can send me a screenshot of my WhatsApp. Or you can send me a DM on Twitter. I am @KangriCarrier. It is a reasonably popular twitter handle in J&K, and Ladakh,” Rath said in the complaint.

Station House Officer, Gandhi Nagar Police Station G Choudhary said he has not seen the letter. “I have not seen it,” he said.

Earlier, this month, the IPS officer in a tweet had hinted that Dilbag Singh apparently owns a big estate in Jammu. “Hi, Dilbag Singh. Can I call you Dilloo? Are you the one who owns 50 canals (six acres) of land in Sarore near the dental college? Is it registered on your name?” Rath tweeted.

The DGP responded to the allegations on a WhatsApp group of journalists and bureaucrats named Kashmir Firstpost: “See he doesn’t even know whether it’s 2 kanals or 50 kanals. He is poor at homework. Shame on the IPS officer who has risen to become igp and is dumped without any work because every time he is given some responsibility he proves to be a joker and useless (sic).”

Hailing from Odisha, Rath was promoted to IGP in early 2018 and posted in the traffic department. He earned a sobriquet of ‘Singam’ for acting against the lawbreakers.

From lifting the Audi of top police officer’s kin to implementing the helmet rule and removing music systems from public transport, Rath had gone the extra mile to ensure that people adhere to the law.