CM Yogi Adityanath suspends Sonbhadra DM, Ghaziabad SSP for corruption & laxity

LUCKNOW: Sending out a strong message to bureaucracy, Yogi Adityanath government on Thursday suspended district magistrate of Sonbhadra TK Shibu and senior superintendent of police, Ghaziabad, Pawan Kumar.
According to government sources, the 2012 batch IAS officer from Kerala, Shibu, was suspended for “corruption and negligence”. On the other hand, the 2009 batch IPS officer from Rajasthan heading the police department in Ghaziabad was taken to task for “dereliction of duty”.
Kumar’s suspension came within three days of a robbery of Rs 25 lakh from two employees of a petrol pump in the Dasna area who were ambushed by a gang while on their way to the bank to deposit the cash.
Additional chief secretary of appointment and personnel department, Devesh Chaturvedi , issued the suspension order on Thursday following directions from the CM, who is likely to start visiting districts after April 2 for spot inspection of development works.
Chandra Vijay Singh has been appointed as the new DM of Sonbhadra while the government is yet to name a replacement for Pawan Kumar.
The elected representatives of the Sonbhadra and office-bearers of some civil society organizations and religious trusts had forwarded complaints to the CM's office about anomalies being overlooked while awarding the contracts for mining and about large scale illegal mining in the district.
Rich in mineral resources, open cast mining is a major activity in Sonbhadra district with large scale extraction of building stone, coal, dolomite, basaltic rock, cement grade limestone and sand taking place.
According to the suspension order, charges of corruption against Shibu have been surfacing time and again regarding the way mining activity is being allowed in the district as well as in the formation of the district mineral foundation trust. Similar allegations against him have been levelled in the execution of other development works.
The order also highlights the laxity and negligence that came to the fore during the recently concluded assembly elections. Unsealed postal ballots were found in the vehicle of a sub-divisional magistrate on March 8, the day after the district went to the polls. The matter was picked up by the Samajwadi Party and highlighted as an example of unfair means being used by the Yogi government. The divisional commissioner of Mirzapur conducted an inquiry and the SDM was suspended. Role of Shibu was also found wanting during the episode.
Taking note of the grievances, an inquiry was ordered. According to sources, the officials came back with negative feedback. Apart from anomalies in the mining activity, the service delivery was also found ineffective. It was found during the review that schemes run by the rural development department and social welfare department were not reaching a section of the eligible beneficiaries.
In some blocks villagers complained about higher than stipulated charges being collected at Jan Suvidha Kendras. MLAs elected by the local population also provided their feedback following which action was initiated against the 41-year-old officer by Chaturvedi on Thursday.
The ACS recommended action against Shibu under the provisions mentioned in rule 3(1) of the All India Services (discipline and appeal) Rules. The divisional commissioner of Varanasi has been appointed the inquiry officer to probe the charges and decide what action should be taken against him. Shibu was attached to the board of revenue office in Lucknow.
While state minister Sanjeev Gond who was elected from Obra constituency was unavailable for comment, BJP MLA from Robertsganj, Bhupesh Chaubey said, "Yogi government has taken a decision in the interest of the public of Sonbhadra. While I cannot divulge details about the inquiry and its findings. But the message is clear that the Yogi government will not accept corruption in any form."
Meanwhile, Ghaziabad police chief Pawan Kumar, the 40-year-old officer who has received two awards for services in the past, has been taken to task for dereliction in discharging duties and for being unable to control crime.
Kumar had his hands full soon after he was posted in Ghaziabad 10 months ago. In December, then Loni border SHO Rajeev Tyagi was suspended after he allegedly shot at seven suspects in an 'encounter' before arresting them in a cow slaughter case. However, BJP MLA from Loni Nand Kishor Gurjar wrote to the CM in support of Tyagi, saying the SSP had suspended an inspector who was fighting against cow slaughter.
More recently, another crime that made news was an attack by four youths on Sumit Kumar, the brother of local RSS functionary Sandeep Kumar, on March 19 in the Indirapuram area in a parking dispute. The attackers had opened fire on Sumit, but the bullet missed him. Two of the suspects were caught by locals and handed over to police but a case wasn't filed. Later, a complaint against the SSP was sent to the CM's office by RSS workers.
Kumar is also accused of illegally detaining BJP workers on March 10, the day counting was taking place. BJP Rajya Sabha MP Anil Agarwal and mayor Asha Sharma were reportedly detained by police and taken to a police outpost.