New Delhi. Four days after the announcement of assembly election dates in Jharkhand, the Election Commission has ordered the removal of the state’s acting DGP Anurag Gupta with immediate effect. In the order issued by the Election Commission, it has been said that the acting DGP should hand over the charge of DGP to the senior most officer of the cadre. The country’s Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar has directed the Hemant Soren government of Jharkhand to comply with this order and submit the report by 7 pm.
According to the news of news agency ANI, this decision has been taken keeping in mind the complaints and actions taken by the Election Commission during the last elections against acting DGP Anurag Gupta. During the 2019 Lok Sabha general elections, Anurag Gupta was relieved of his duties as ADG (Special Branch), Jharkhand, following allegations of partisan conduct by the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM). At that time, he was reassigned to the Resident Commissioner’s office in Delhi and barred from returning to Jharkhand until the election process was completed. At present there is only JMM government in Jharkhand.
Moreover, during the biennial elections to the Rajya Sabha from Jharkhand in 2016, serious allegations of misuse of his authority were made against Anurag Gupta, then posted as Additional DGP. The Election Commission had constituted an inquiry committee to investigate these allegations, based on the findings of which a charge sheet was also issued against Anurag Gupta for a departmental inquiry. In this matter, a case was also registered in March 2018 under section 171(B)(E)/ 171(C)(F) of IPC in Jagannathpur police station. Subsequently in 2021, the Jharkhand government had given permission for investigation in this case under Section 17 (A) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
