The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has suspended a senior DIG-rank officer for allegedly sharing content against the government on social media during the recent passage of the Central Armed Police Forces Bill 2026, sources said on Wednesday.
The bill is now an Act after it received presidential assent in April.
The Act seeks to retain the dominance of IPS officers on deputation in the five CAPFs, and it was vehemently opposed by a group of retired CAPF officers as well as Opposition parties.
Officials identified the officer who faced action as deputy inspector-general (DIG) B.C. Patra, posted at the force’s Tripura Sector headquarters in Agartala. The 1994-batch CRPF cadre officer returned to the CRPF in April after completing a deputation posting with the federal counter-terrorist commando force NSG.
“Patra has been suspended under Sub-Rule (1) of Rule 10 of the CCS (CCA) Rules, 1965, pending a preliminary enquiry. The charges involve sharing audio-visual and pictorial content on social media platforms that allegedly called for ‘changing’ the country’s lawfully elected government during the passage of the Central Armed Police Forces (General Administration) Bill 2026,” said a CRPF official.
This is the first such case among the approximately 15,000 cadre officers entrusted with leadership roles in the country’s 10-lakh-strong CAPFs.
Officers privy to the case said the action against the DIG was “mala fide” and “unjustified”.
They said the officer (Patra) was being targeted because he was the lead petitioner among the CAPF cadre officers who fought cases related to their promotions and service parity with the IPS up to the Supreme Court.