Haryana Police Suspends 372 Investigating Officers for Inadequate Action in FIRs

The Haryana Police Department has suspended 372 Investigating Officers (IOs) across the state for alleged inadequate action in FIRs pending for over a year. The orders were issued on the instructions of Home Minister Anil Vij.

The Haryana police department has suspended 372 Investigating Officers (IOs) across the state for alleged inadequate action in FIRs pending for over a year. The orders were issued on Wednesday, October 25, following instructions from Home Minister Anil Vij.

Vij's Instructions

On Wednesday, Vij spoke with the state's Director General of Police (DGP) Shatrujeet Kapur, directing him to immediately act on his instructions to suspend the IOs on Monday. Sources said that Vij told the DGP that there should be no further delay in the matter.

Matter Forwarded for Immediate Compliance

Hours later, the office of Additional Director General of Police Crime forwarded the matter for immediate compliance to concerned Commissioners of Police of Gurugram, Faridabad, Panchkula, and Sonipat and Superintendents of Police of Ambala, Yamunanagar, Karnal, Panipat, Hisar, Sirsa, Jind, Rewari, and Rohtak districts. The concerned officers have also been directed by ADGP Crime to ensure that a compliance report is submitted to his office.

Vij's Warning

During his telephonic conversation on Wednesday, Vij told the DGP to forward the matter to the concerned officers for suspension and said he would take action in case of further non-compliance. In a letter addressed to the Director General of Police on Monday, Vij gave instructions to suspend 372 IOs across various districts of the state.

Pending Cases to be Transferred

Vij had also asked for cases pending for over a year to be transferred to respective deputy superintendents of police for final disposal within a month, failing which, action should be taken against those officers also. In a written communication to DGP earlier, Vij had said that he had asked for the early disposal of the FIRs registered in the state many times.

Reason for Suspensions

The home minister said that the number of such cases is above 3,000, which he said was "very high." He wrote, "I am pained to know that despite my instruction, still 372 IOs are those who have not finally disposed of the cases and the reason quoted by them are not satisfactory. All these IOs should be put under suspension immediately."

Unprecedented Move

Justifying the unprecedented move to demand the suspension of so many police officials in one go, the home minister said people are being forced to move from pillar to post for action on their complaints, which was a very serious matter. Vij said that the police department, earlier in May this year, informed him that there were 3,029 cases that were pending for more than a year.

Details of Suspended IOs

Among the IOs, 66 IOs are from Sirsa, 60 from Gurugram, 57 from Yamunanagar, 32 from Faridabad, 31 from Karnal, 31 from Rohtak, 30 from Ambala, 24 from Jind, 14 from Hisar, 10 from Panchkula, nine from Sonipat, five from Rewari, and three from Panipat.

The suspension of 372 IOs in Haryana is a significant step taken by the state government to address the issue of pending FIRs. The move aims to ensure prompt action on complaints and improve the efficiency of the police department. The concerned officers have been directed to submit a compliance report, and further action will be taken if there is any non-compliance.