Civil rights groups here have expressed shock and outrage over the posting of IAS officer Krishna Kunal, who was suspended for his failure to control communal violence at Gopalgarh in September 2011, as the new Collector of Jaipur.
Ten persons praying inside the Jama Masjid at Gopalgarh were killed and 38 injured on September 14, 2011 when the police resorted to indiscriminate firing on the mosque amid tension between Gujjars and Meo Muslims. Some of the policemen allegedly joined the armed Gujjar mob that stormed into the mosque and attacked the worshippers. No policeman was booked or arrested.
The previous Congress regime reinstated Mr. Kunal following a stay granted by the Central Administrative Tribunal and rehabilitated him with the post of the Commissioner (Land Resources and Settlement).
Civil rights organisations have pointed out that the CBI investigation into a dozen FIRs lodged by Gopalgarh residents charging Mr. Kunal with murder are still in progress. During its time in the opposition, the BJP accused the Congress of obstructing justice and flouting the rule of law through “ineffective action” in the Gopalgarh case.
Taking exception to Mr. Kunal being given a “plum posting” even before the probe against him is completed and trial begins, activists wrote to Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje wondering how a “tainted officer” had won her confidence and become the Collector of the high-profile Jaipur district.
“Giving an important posting to the officers who authored and witnessed gruesome violence in Rajasthan in the past emboldens them and causes cynicism among peace loving people,” the activists wrote.
While demanding immediate removal of Mr. Kunal, the activists said they expected Ms. Raje to change the perception of biased decisions as she did in 2008 in the aftermath of serial blasts in Jaipur by not allowing any backlash of communal violence.
