PANAJI
A quiet power struggle has resurfaced in the ‘disciplined’ police force as IPS officers vie for desirable postings.
The simmering tensions between senior Goan officers and their counterparts from other States “ a longstanding issue “ are also well known to police higher-ups and the government but the competition for district postings has now intensified.
Reliable government sources told The Goan that Superintendent of Police (Crime Branch, Traffic and Cyber Crime) Rahul Gupta (IPS) transferred to Goa earlier this year is reportedly pulling strings to get the much sought-after posting in either the North or South district.
The tussle escalated after the recent promotion of three Deputy Superintendents of Police (DySP) “ Prabodh Shirvaikar, Harischandra Madkaikar and Santosh Desai, to SPs. With their posting due, the government has been in discussion amid ‘lobbying’ for favourite postings.
As the matter has reportedly reached the Chief Minister’s Office, the authorities are in a tight spot. The reason: Akshat Kaushal (IPS) was appointed SP North and Sunita Sawant as SP South just eight months ago on February 11, after the transfers of Nidhin Valsan (IPS) and Abhishek Dhania (IPS) in the AGMUT cadre reshuffle.
“Since the government is responsible for the transfers and posting of the gazetted officers, it is for the CMO to decide in consultation with the DGP. Performance is not an issue at the moment, and one needs a strong reason to issue transfers within a short span of time,” the source revealed.
The concerned officers remained unavailable for comment till Friday evening.
The conflict further taps into a long-standing debate about probable preferential treatment to non-Goan IPS officers while experienced local officers are sidelined into less influential postings.
A similar “Goan versus outsider” saga played out in the past when former SP Veenu Bansal (IPS) allegedly sought North district SP posting, then held by Bosco George, now retired Inspector General of Police -- before his elevation to the IPS cadre.
The government temporarily appointed George's colleague ex-Traffic SP Arvind Gawas (retired IPS) to complete the handover charge. Ironically, this posting, which should have been for just two days, dragged on for months until Bansal -- then SP ANC -- was shifted to Delhi.
Further stoking the current tensions is the August incident during a gambling raid in Naikawado, when a routine police operation took a disturbing turn. One of the alleged gamblers, Fakirappa Bramanan, aged 50 years, was reportedly ‘accidentally thrown’ from a third-floor apartment. While the man sustained multiple fractures, no formal complaint was filed against the police team.
