In a surprise move, Gujarat DGP P.C. Thakur was shunted out on Friday as the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) appointed him DG of Fire Services, Civil Defence and Home Guards in the government of India till his superannuation in December 2016.
Following Mr. Thakur’s appointment at the Centre, the State government has given additional charge of DGP to P.P. Pandey, a 1980 batch IPS of Gujarat cadre, and currently out on bail in the controversial Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case.
Mr. Thakur’s appointment order was issued by the MHA on Friday, a public holiday in Gujarat due to Ram Navmi. According to sources, Mr. Thakur was taken aback when he learnt about his deputation order posted on the website by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT).
The State government officials feigned ignorance about Mr. Thakur’s deputation order, saying the Gujarat government had not sent his name for deputation and yet the MHA selected him for the job and issued the order.
Apparently, his name was added in the offer list for deputation at the last moment. A few days back, the MHA had reportedly sought vigilance clearance for Mr. Thakur and few other top IPS officers of the State.
However, The Hindu has learnt from sources in the Secretariat that the “government was keen to replace Mr. Thakur, whose performance was not as per the government’s expectation.”
