The Election Commission (EC) on Saturday removed Jharkhand’s acting director-general of police (DGP), Anurag Gupta, ahead of the Assembly elections on the ground that he had faced allegations of bias by the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) in the past.
The state government has been asked for a list of officers to replace him by Monday morning.
An EC source pointed out: “During the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Gupta was relieved of his duties as ADG (special branch) following allegations of biased conduct by the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha…. During the Rajya Sabha elections from Jharkhand in 2016, Gupta, then additional DGP, faced serious charges of misuse of authority. The commission had formed an inquiry committee which, based on its findings, resulted in a chargesheet being issued against him for departmental enquiry.”
An FIR was also lodged in the case.
Gupta has long been a red rag for Jharkhand BJP president Babulal Marandi.
In 2016, Marandi — then leader of the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) — released a purported sting video that showed Gupta and then BJP chief minister Raghubar Das trying to persuade Congress leader Yogendra Sao to convince his wife and MLA Nirmala Devi to abstain from voting in the Rajya Sabha polls.
