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| One gone, other docked, | | Khoda to stay as DGP for long | | Ahmed Ali Fayyaz
SRINAGAR, Jul 21: Rape-cum-murder of two young women in Shopian is the one-odd incident that has led not only to 47-day-long shutdown in the South Kashmir apple-town but has also created an unprecedented black hole for Jammu & Kashmir Police. It has consumed heads and is threatening more. It is perhaps first time that officials from top to bottom---DG CID, IG Kashmir, DIG South Kashmir, SP Shopian, Dy SP headquarters Shopian and SHO Shopian---have been unceremoniously removed, either to attachment and detention or to oblivion. Luck has favoured only Director General of Police, Kuldeep Khoda, who was enjoying a holiday with his family in United States of America in the eventful week in May-June.
Touchwood, Khoda has had a windfall of good luck. It was in the thick of rumours of his replacement---carried by leading national newspapers as scoop---that his 1974-batch parallel, P S Gill, was taken away as DGP by Government of Punjab. His junior but elder, R V Raju (1975-batch), had already been appointed as head of the country’s elite counter-terrorism organization by Government of India. He was otherwise to reach superannuation in J&K on 31st July, 2009. With M K Mohanty (Transport Commissioner) too being close to his retirement on 31st December, 2009, 1976-batch IPS officer, Dr Ashok Bhan, was the only threat to Mr Khoda in his home state.
Son of the soil like Khoda, Dr Bhan happens to be the 5th and the last senior-most officer in J&K cadre of IPS holding the rank of a DGP. With the age being on Khoda’s side, Bhan was otherwise too scheduled to reach the end of his service in the next 10 months. After Dr Bhan’s appointment as DGP Prisons on Tuesday last---obviously his ultimate posting in the state Police---Khoda’s runners-up on the ladder would be two IGPs, K Rajendra Kumar and P L Gupta, who have both been elevated to the rank of Additional DGP in the Cabinet meeting on 14th July.
For the worst of his bad luck, state intelligence chief Bhan was officiating as DGP in Khoda’s absence in May-June. First three days of June proved to be virtually fatal for him. According to highly placed sources in the coalition government, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah called Dr Bhan from New Delhi in the forenoon on June 1st and conveyed to him his intention of holding a news conference in Srinagar on the burning episode of Shopian. DG CID is reported have told the keenly inquisitive Chief Minister that an ordinary incident of “death by drowning” was being blown out of proportion by his adversaries in politics and media. Chief Minister again asked to re-verify the inputs. Following this telephonic conversation, Dr Bhan asked SSP Special Branch of CID, Kashmir, Ghulam Hassan Bhat, to personally visit Shopian and return with a factual report.
With the Valley reeling under a total shutdown, called by hardcore Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Shopian was burning with rage on 1st June. Even as Dukhtaraan-e-Millat chief Asiya Andrabi’s arrest near Pulwama added to tension on Srinagar-Shopian Road and a group of demonstrators torched a Forest Department hut at Sheermal, SSP SB and another official in civvies drove all the way to Shopian on a motorcycle. By the time SSP reached back, CID headquarters had conveyed to Chief Minister that nothing different had been noticed on spot.
Sources said that DG CID had, in fact, relied more on the reports communicated to him by then IGP Kashmir, Dr B Srinivas, who had received the same from his subordinate hierarchy of DIG South Kashmir, SP Shopian and SHO Shopian. SSP SB Bhat, who had in fact ruled out “death by drowning” and returned with the report that it seemed to be “some foul play”, was quick to pass on a copy of his observation “un-officially” to the Chief Minister. Call it luck or intelligence, this is what came to Bhat’s rescue on Tuesday last.
According to sources, senior officials had considerably downplayed the allegations of foul play, telling Chief Minister how residents of a locality had raised hue and cry when one Meraj-ud-din Gilkar had lost contact with his family while traveling from Jammu to Srinagar as the battery of his mobile phone had expired. Omar referred to this incident at his news conference.
A day later the Chief Minister called Khoda back from USA and directed him to join back within 24 hours. He returned and visited Shopian on June 4th.
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