Chandigarh, August 4
Mr Ravi Kant Sharma, whose Panchkula house was again raided twice by the Delhi police today, is not the first IPS officer of the Haryana to have had a brush with law.
Yesterday also the Delhi police had come to his house in search of the officer, who is wanted in the Shivani Bhatnagar murder case.
Mr Sharma, who is posted as the Inspector-General of Police, Prisons, here, proceeded on leave for 10 days on August 2 after the Delhi police arrested a Gurgaon resident, Shri Bhagwan Sharma, in connection with the murder of the Delhi-based journalist.
The Delhi police suspects Mr Sharma, an IPS officer of the 1976 batch, of being the key figure in the conspiracy to eliminate Shivani, who is believed to have developed “intimacy” with the officer, when he was an OSD in the Prime Minister’s Office under Mr I.K. Gujral.
Mr Sharma’s two daughters, Komal and Pragati, were at home when the Delhi police raided his house today. However, the police did not search the house and obtained a certificate to this effect from Komal.
It is believed that Mr Sharma may try to get anticipatory bail from a Delhi court. In case his efforts fail, he will surrender.
At least two Directors-General of the Haryana police have been to jail while another DGP is facing criminal trial. The then DG (Prisons), Mr Ramesh Sehgal, was arrested by the Haryana Vigilance Bureau from his residence while allegedly accepting a bribe from a person. However, the Union Home Ministry, which controls the IPS cadre, did not give its sanction to his prosecution. Unfortunately, Mr Sehgal died of cancer after his retirement.
Another DGP, Mr Lachhman Dass, was arrested by the CBI after his retirement in the Pehal murder case. He spent several months in jail before being released on bail. He is still facing trial.
Another former DGP of Haryana, Mr S.P.S. Rathore, has been undergoing trial under Section 354, IPC, by a special CBI court in the Ruchika molestation case.
Besides Mr Sharma, another IG of the Haryana Police, Mr Harish Kumar, also allegedly found himself on the wrong side of the law when a central revenue team raided his Delhi house in connection with the alleged evasion of customs duty on certain material imported for business purposes.
At least three SPs of Haryana have also been to jail. Mr Anil Dawra, the then SP, Hisar, was sent to jail by the Supreme Court for filing a false affidavit in the court.
An Additional SP, Mr Shyam Lal Goel, was also sent to jail by the apex court in the Dawra case.
The then SP, Railways, Haryana,
