India - Gujarat: Former Gujarat DGP accused of fake encounters likely to be appointed as state Human Rights Commission chairman

Ahmedabad Mirror

Former Gujarat DGP accused of fake encounters likely to be appointed as state Human Rights Commission chairman
By Deepal Trivedi, Ahmedabad Mirror | Updated: Jun 12, 2017, 03.36 PM IST

Former DGP PP Pandey
Photo credit: Yogesh Chawda/BCCL
In a controversial move, former Gujarat Director General of Police, (DGP) PP Pandey is likely to be appointed as the Chairman of Human Rights Commission by the Gujarat government.

The former Director General of Police has been accused of fake encounters in the past. However, the position is called as a post retirement assignment by the government.

An IPS officer, Pandey was given an extension by Gujarat government earlier which was challenged by super cop Julio Ribeiro in court. Ribeiro had argued in his petition that a cop accused of the murder of four persons cannot be the head of the state police. Following this, Pandey turned in his resignation in April this year. The resignation came after the Supreme Court announced that it would order Pandey's removal unless he offers to quit.

As Pandey resigned, the Gujarat government made a statement that Pandey would be relieved from his duties with immediate effect.

The new chairman, if elected, has also served his time in prison for his alleged involvement in the fake encounter of Ishrat Jahan and three others.

The probable appointment of a cop accused of human rights violations as the guardian of human rights in Gujarat as the grassroots level of Human Rights Commission has irked social activists.