BJP demands CBI probe against Jharkhand DGP

Ranchi, Feb 5 (PTI) Two days after senior IPS officer Anurag Gupta was appointed as Jharkhand Director General of Police, the BJP on Wednesday demanded a CBI probe against him.

Gupta, who was previously removed from the post by the Election Commission ahead of the 2024 assembly polls, was later appointed additional DGP by the Hemant Soren government following its electoral victory in November 2024.

"The present JMM-led dispensation is using the police administration as a weapon for its political conspiracies....the Supreme Court had directed that the appointment of the DGP would be from the panel recommended by the UPSC. Yet the Hemant government, bypassing the UPSC, appointed Anurag Gupta as DGP on its own, whose name was not in the UPSC's recommended list....We demand a CBI probe against Gupta," state BJP president and former Jharkhand chief minister Babulal Marandi told reporters.

The ruling JMM, however, dismissed the BJP's demand for a CBI probe as a sign of frustration following their defeat in the Assembly elections. The party said the decision to appoint Anurag Gupta as the DGP was made collectively in the cabinet.

Marandi alleged that Gupta's tenure had been controversial and he had been involved in electoral malpractices.

In response, JMM spokesperson Supriyo Bhattacharyya dismissed the BJP's claims, calling them a reflection of the party's frustration after its defeat in the assembly elections.

He argued that the decision to appoint Gupta was made in a cabinet meeting, similar to practices in other states like West Bengal, Odisha, and Uttar Pradesh.

A notification issued by the department of home, prisons and disaster management earlier this week said, "Anurag Gupta, Director General, Crime Investigation Department, has been given charge of Director General, Police..." Gupta was given the additional charge of DGP hours after Soren took oath as the 14th chief minister of Jharkhand.

Gupta was removed from the DGP post due to his "history of election-related misconduct" in previous polls, and the Election Commission had appointed 1989-batch Jharkhand cadre senior-most IPS officer Ajay Kumar Singh as DGP on October 21 last year.

The state went to polls in two phases on November 13 and 20 and the JMM-led alliance registered a stunning victory, securing 56 seats in the 81-member Jharkhand assembly, while the BJP-led NDA won 24 constituencies.

Gupta, a 1990-batch IPS officer, was made acting DGP in July last tear, replacing 1989-batch officer AK Singh.

However, his appointment had sparked controversy, especially within the Congress, an ally of the ruling JMM, which claimed it was not consulted about the decision.

"We are not aware as to under what circumstances Anurag Gupta was made the new DGP and Ajay Kumar Singh was removed from the post. There has been no discussion over it in the coordination committee. At least alliance partners should have been told about such a major decision," then state Congress president Rajesh Thakur had said.

Prior to Gupta, Singh was entrusted with the responsibility of the DGP in February 2023 after the retirement of his predecessor Neeraj Sinha.

Singh's appointment in 2023 had ended the row over the selection of the state's DGP.

The Supreme Court had, in January 2023, disposed of a contempt petition against the Jharkhand government and former police chief Neeraj Sinha. The petitioner had alleged that Sinha had been occupying the post of DGP even after his superannuation on January 31, 2022. PTI NAM MNB