The Himachal Pradesh Excessive Court docket has issued notices to the house secretary (HS) and the Director Normal of Police (DGP) searching for their response to a Public Curiosity Litigation (PIL) searching for the reinstatement of 2018-batch IPS officer Ilma Afroz as Baddi’s Superintendent of Police.
A division bench of Justice Vivek Singh Thakur and Rakesh Kainthla issued the notices Friday, directing the house secretary and the DGP to file their replies by January 4, 2025.
Afroz, who was posted as Baddi SP, proceeded on a 15-day earned go away beginning November 7 amid experiences of variations with the Congress MLA from Doon, Ram Kumar Chaudhary. Subsequently, the cost of SP, Baddi was handed over to Himachal Pradesh Police Service (HPPS) officer Vinod Kumar Dhiman on November 14. Afroz is but to obtain a brand new posting after returning to responsibility on December 17 on the police headquarters in Shimla.
The PIL, filed by 36-year-old agriculturist Sucha Ram from Dholowal village, Nalagarh, claimed that Afroz was pressured into taking go away and that legislation and order within the space deteriorated after her switch. The petition highlights that in her tenure, Afroz took strict motion towards unlawful mining, the drug menace, and different organized crimes within the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh Improvement (BBND) space.
Within the petition, filed via Advocate RL Chaudhary on December 22, Sucha Ram claimed that previous to Afroz’s posting, unlawful actions by mining mafias flourished unchecked within the space. The petition additional alleges that there are 43 mining crusher models operated by native politicians, MLAs, and others on the border of Solan district close to Punjab and Haryana. Police within the space allegedly colluded with these mafias, ignoring directives from the Nationwide Inexperienced Tribunal (NGT) and the excessive courtroom. Chaudhary contended that the courtroom has directed the Dwelling Secretary and DGP to submit their replies by January 4, 2025.
The petition additionally features a excessive courtroom order from September 9, which directed that the SP, Baddi shouldn’t be transferred with out the courtroom’s permission. The petition additionally acknowledged {that a} illustration was made by native residents to the Chief Minister on November 26, requesting Afroz’s reinstatement as SP Baddi. Nonetheless, the authorities have but to behave on the illustration.
In the course of the Vidhan Sabha’s monsoon session in September, MLA Chaudhary filed a privilege movement towards Afroz, accusing her of breaching his privateness. The inquiry was assigned to DIG Abhishek Dullar. On November 8, speaking to The Indian Categorical, the MLA had mentioned, “Certainly, the police had as soon as challaned a truck belonging to certainly one of our corporations for unlawful mining however that matter is settled now. I moved a privilege movement towards her for breaching my privateness via my driver. The enquiry is on. I’ve nothing to do with any police officer’s go away, switch and many others.”
Chaudhary was amongst six Chief Parliamentary Secretaries (CPSs) faraway from their positions after the Shimla Excessive Court docket invalidated the Himachal Pradesh Chief Parliamentary Secretaries Act, 2006, on November 13. Ilma Afroz is a graduate of St. Stephen’s Faculty, Delhi, and a Rhodes Scholar who studied on the College of Oxford, England.
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