EC directs removal of Jharkhand's in-charge DGP Anurag Gupta

Ranchi, Oct 19 (IANS) The Election Commission (EC) on Saturday ordered the immediate removal of Jharkhand's acting Director General of Police (DGP), Anurag Gupta.

The Commission has instructed that the most senior DGP-ranked officer should take over the position. Ajay Kumar Singh is widely expected to be reappointed as the state’s DGP, with an official notification likely to be issued by the state government later on Saturday.

The directive comes amid two key reasons -- First, Gupta was appointed as acting DGP on July 24, 2024. Second, complaints were lodged against him with the Election Commission.

Gupta had previously faced allegations related to involvement in a horse-trading case during the Rajya Sabha elections, but he was later exonerated by the court.

Before Gupta, 1989-batch IPS officer Ajay Kumar Singh had served as the state’s DGP. His removal had been contested, leading to a contempt petition filed in the Supreme Court.

The petitioner, Jamshedpur resident Naresh Makani, argued that Gupta’s appointment violated the Supreme Court’s 2018 guidelines, which prohibit ad hoc appointments to the post of DGP.

This is not the first instance of controversy over Jharkhand’s DGP appointments. In 2019, then DGP K.N. Choubey was replaced by M.V. Rao in a similar manner. Ajay Kumar Singh took over the role on February 15, 2023, following Neeraj Sinha’s completion of a two-year term, though Singh’s appointment, too, had been challenged in court.

The elections in Jharkhand will be held in two phases, on November 13 and November 20, with the vote counting scheduled for November 23. In the first phase, elections will be held in 43 constituencies while in the second phase, 38 seats will go to polls out of a total of 81 seats. For phase 2, the date of notification is October 22 and the last day for filing the notification papers is October 29.