Chaudhry had justified opening fire at the protesters during the clashes which broke out during the survey of Shahi Jama Masjid in November
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI – The Director General of Police (DGP) in Uttar Pradesh has asked the Sambhal Superintendent of Police (SP) to initiate a probe against circle officer Anuj Kumar Chaudhary for participating in religious rituals on duty in uniform.
The probe was initiated after a political activist and Azad Adhikar Sena’s national president, Amitabh Thakur, filed a complaint with the DGP on 2 January by citing reports and videos showing Chaudhry attending religious activities on duty.
According to reports, Sambhal SP Krishna Kumar Bishnoi received a letter from the DGP asking him to initiate a probe against Chaudhry. On Monday, Bishnoi said Chaudhry has been directed to submit a report on the issue to the probe panel led by Sambhal ASP Trish Chandra.
Bishnoi said action, if any, would be initiated against the circle officer based on the findings of the probe panel.
Chaudhry had come to the limelight when he had justified opening fire at the protesters during the clashes which broke out during the survey of Shahi Jama Masjid in November. Five Muslims lost their lives and scores of others were injured in the police action.
Later, a few videos of Chaudhry went viral on social media platforms showing him singing Hindu hymns carrying Hanuman’s Gada in a religious rally. These videos and reports were cited by Thakur in his complaint against Chaudhry demanding departmental action and his transfer from Sambhal.
In his complaint, Thakur said that Chaudhry violated Sections 3 and 4 of the Uttar Pradesh government servant’s conduct rules of 1956.
According to Section 4, “every government servant should accord equal treatment to people irrespective of their caste, sect or religion”.
“Against these obvious service rules, Mr. Chaudhry can be seen regularly taking part in various religious activities during his duty. These activities include walking in a religious rule with Gada on his neck, presenting the Gada to a priest, singing ‘Bhajan’ in a religious programme and other religious activities at various temples and other religious places,” reads the complaint.
The complainant said that a police officer has every right to perform his religious rituals and activities. But these activities cannot be done on duty and cannot be broadcast in public. The matter becomes serious when it comes to police officers as they are considered the highest representatives of the law.
He also noted that Chaudhry had been carrying out such activities at a time when Sambhal had witnessed communal violence. The situation is so tense that even Thakur was not allowed to visit the area.
Thakur demanded permanent transfer of Chaudhry from Sambhal, departmental action against him as per the law, and holding the SP accountable for ignoring such a flagrant violation of the rules.
