UPSC, J&K Govt, MHA Reps meet in Srinagar
Case of one official deferred due to suspension, inquiry
31 more posts to be taken up for induction in fresh exercise
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, July 29: Ending wait of a decade for Jammu and Kashmir Police Services (JKPS) officers, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC)-Member headed high-powered committee today approved induction of 27 JKPS officers into the Indian Police Services (IPS)—14 retired and 13 serving. The Panel kept case of one of the serving officers pending as he is under suspension and an inquiry against him has been initiated by the Home department for harassment of a female officer.
Among 13 serving JKPS officers cleared for induction into the IPS today, five are likely to get 2008 batch while eight could get 2009 and 2010 batch, official sources told the Excelsior.
Inductions were approved at a meeting in Srinagar chaired by Dr TCA Anant, Member Union Public Services Commission (UPSC) and attended by Chief Secretary Dr Arun Kumar Mehta, Principal Secretary Home Shaleen Kabra, Director General of Police (DGP) Dilbag Singh and Inspector Generals of CRPF and BSF in Kashmir. The last two had been designated by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs as its representatives to the meeting.
Thirteen serving JKPS officers, whose induction into the IPS has been cleared by the Committee, are Shakti Kumar Pathak, Director Special Security Force (SSF) Raj Bhawan J&K, Dr Mohammad Haseeb Mughal, SSP Police Control Room (PCR) Jammu, Javid Ahmad Koul, SSP Traffic Srinagar, Sheikh Junaid Mehmood, SSP Armed PCR Kashmir, Shahid Mehraj Rather, Commandant IR 6th battalion, Dr Ajeet Singh, SSP CID New Delhi, Altaf Ahmad Khan, SSP CID (Counter Intelligence) Kashmir, Haseeb-ur-Rehman, Commandant SDRF Ist battalion, Vikas Gupta, Divisional Commandant Home Guards Jammu, Abdul Qayoom, Commandant IRP 9th battalion, Nisha Nathyal, Commandant SDRF 2nd battalion, Maqsood-ul-Zaman, Commandant IRP 8th battalion and Javid Iqbal Mattoo, AIG Buildings Police Headquarters. All of them are 1999 batch officers of JKPS.
Romesh Kumar Bhat, whose name figured at Serial No. 4 in the seniority list and was sure to be inducted into the IPS, will have to wait for outcome of the inquiry initiated against him by the Home Department following allegations leveled by a JKAS female officer of harassment. Bhat is presently under suspension. Sources said his name has been kept pending by the Committee for induction into IPS.
As the Induction Panel gave 14 posts to the retired officers, some of the senior serving JKPS officers narrowly missed the inductions in today’s meeting. They include Mubassir Latifi Ameer, Shiv Kumar Sharma, Suhail Munawar Mir, Rashmi Wazir, Rajeshwar Singh and Sandeep Wazir, who figured from S Nos. 15 to 20.
However, sources told the Excelsior that a total of 44 vacancies for induction of JKPS officers into IPS have been identified and only 13 will be considered as filled up as 14 posts went to retired officers and one post was kept pending.
“Fresh exercise will be shortly initiated for induction of JKPS officers into IPS for 31 vacancies up to the year 2020,” they said, adding after initiation of exercise the fresh meeting could be held as early as by the end of this year or start of next year to fill the vacancies. Sources pointed out that 14 posts which went to retired officers will be considered as vacant once the UPSC issues formal notification inducting 13 JKPS officers into IPS. The Union Ministry of Home Affairs will issue the order of inductions after receiving nod from the UPSC.
According to sources, among 13 JKPS officers whose induction has been approved into the IPS. five could get 2008 batch and rest 2009 and 2010.
Five JKPS officers who will get 2008 batch of IPS will become eligible for promotion as DIG as direct IPS officers of 2008 have already been posted as Incharge DIGs in Jammu and Kashmir. Moreover, there has been shortage of DIGs in the UT.
Sources said 14 posts given to retired officers will be treated as vacant from the year of allotment to the officers.
This was for the first time after 10 years that JKPS officers were inducted into the IPS. Quite significantly, out of 66 IPS officers in Jammu and Kashmir including those who are on Central deputation presently, all are Direct Recruits of IPS and there is not even a single JKPS officer inducted into the IPS due to delay in inductions because of variety of reasons—the litigations arising out of seniority disputes being one of them.
Initially out of a total of 147 IPS posts in Jammu and Kashmir, 80 were reserved for Regular Recruits (direct IPS officers) and 67 for State Police Services (SPS), who are inducted into IPS from JKPS. This was part of UPA Government’s special formula for Jammu and Kashmir under which 50 percent posts each were reserved for Regular Recruits and SPS officers.
However, after Narendra Modi Government came to power in 2014, Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Incharge Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) reversed the order of UPA Government and restored previous formula of 67:33 bringing Jammu and Kashmir at par with other States and Union Territories of the country which took number of direct IPS officers to 67 percent of the total strength and reduced quota of inductions of SPS officers into IPS to 33 percent. In present 50:50 quota, 104 posts of IPS have gone to Regular Recruits leaving 43 for promotion quota of JKPS officers into the IPS.
However, sources pointed out, the induction quota of JKPS officers into IPS till 2013 is being treated on the pattern of 50:50 as ratio of 67:33 was restored in 2014.
The 1999 batch of JKPS officers were major beneficiaries of inductions as all 13 officers inducted into the IPS today belonged to that batch, sources pointed out but said they had to wait for at least 14 extra years for the inductions as they became eligible for it in 2007 i.e. eight years after services on Gazetted posts.
It may be mentioned here that 1999 batch JKPS officers were promoted as Superintendents of Police in the year 2005 by the then Mufti Sayeed Government and since then they continue to work as SPs and SSPs as they couldn’t be promoted to DIGs in the absence of their inductions into IPS.
“However, the JKPS officers who have been inducted into the IPS, will get AGMUT (Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram Union Territories) cadre as the Union Home Ministry had recently merged erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir cadre into AGMUT as J&K was made a Union Territory on August 5, 2019,” sources said.
The Government now proposed to make induction of JKPS officers into IPS a regular feature every year so that the JKPS officers are timely inducted into the IPS like other States and Union Territories and not after 10 years as is the case presently in Jammu and Kashmir.
Besides benefiting the JKPS officers, their induction into IPS will also help the Jammu and Kashmir Government to overcome shortage of IPS officers in the Union Territory especially in the rank of DIGs.
“The shortage will definitely be overcome with today’s induction of JKPS officers into IPS,” sources said.
Worthwhile to mention here that the Union Ministry of Home Affairs had merged Jammu and Kashmir cadre of All India Services into AGMUT on January 8 this year.
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