Abuse of Power
Goa DGP Jaspal Singh Transferred to Delhi After Controversy Over House Demolition
Goa: In a dramatic turn of events, Goa’s Director General of Police (DGP) Jaspal Singh has been transferred to Delhi by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) following allegations that he exerted undue pressure on his subordinates to allow the demolition of a house in North Goa’s Assagao. This move comes after an inquiry was initiated by Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant.
According to the inquiry report, DGP Singh allegedly told police officers that there was “no need to take action into the complaint” regarding the demolition of the house, which belonged to a Mumbai-based woman. The situation escalated when a police officer reported receiving a call from the DGP later that day, questioning why the demolition had been halted. Singh, however, has dismissed these accusations as “baseless, invented, and preposterous.”
The house demolition saga has morphed into a full-blown political slugfest, with the Opposition demanding a high-level inquiry committee headed by a retired high court judge to investigate the matter. They have even gone so far as to suggest that the demolition was orchestrated by the “land and real-estate mafia,” adding a dash of conspiracy theory to the mix.
The state government, clearly not wanting to be left out of the drama, promptly wrote to the MHA recommending Singh’s transfer. Enter Alok Kumar, a 1996-batch IPS officer from the AGMUT cadre, who has been appointed as the new DGP of Goa.
In the meantime, the residents of Assagao can take solace in the fact that their peaceful village has now made headlines, albeit for reasons they might not have imagined. Whether this incident leads to any substantial changes in the way such matters are handled remains to be seen, but it has certainly provided plenty of fodder for political debates and media coverage.