Patna, Aug. 25: He is the seniormost Bihar cadre IPS officer. An upright man, he fails to fit into the government’s scheme of things, particularly when it comes to appointing the director-general of police (DGP).
Meet Manoje Nath, a 1973 batch IPS officer. Presently posted as DGP (training), he has been superseded time and again by his juniors.The Bihar government overlooked this seniormost IPS officer again while appointing the next DGP. Abhayanand, a 1977 batch officer, has been named the next DGP. He will replace Neel Mani (1975 batch), who retires on August 31.
As Abhayanand will be in service till December 2014, the chances of Nath being elevated to the coveted post are bleak because he retires in 2012.
Earlier, Mani and D.N. Gautam (1974 batch) had superseded Nath, known as no-nonsense officer in the police circles. Nath has been sidelined ever since he locked horns with former chairman of Bihar State Electricity Board (BSEB) Swapan Mukherjee. The tug-of-war between Mukherjee and Nath (who was posted as DG, vigilance cell, BSEB, then) led to legal wrangling.
Cases were instituted against both the officers. A case of defalcation was lodged against Mukherjee with the vigilance.
Mukherjee, considered close to the powers that be, lodged a complaint case against Nath in the Patna civil court. He got a reprieve from the high court after it quashed the FIR against him. Mukherjee was charged with favouritism and causing immense financial loss to the state exchequer.
The spat led to the removal of Nath from the post of DG, vigilance cell (BSEB). He was later appointed as DG (training). The government also decided to start departmental proceedings against Nath in a case of alleged insubordination. The proceedings were dropped when he moved the high court.
Promotions
The state government has promoted four IPS officers of 1977 batch, including Abhayanand, to the DG rank. The three others promoted to the DG rank are Shafi Alam, Ashok Kumar Gupta and R.C. Sinha. While Alam is posted as ADG (human rights), Gupta is the ADG-cum-managing director of Bihar Police Building Construction Corporation. Sinha is posted as ADG (civil defence).
