Orissa police officers question snub to colleague on medal

The last-minute move to not give a Presidents Medal to CISF DIG Vinay Tosh Mishra on Independence Day despite his name reportedly being on the list of police awardees....

The last-minute move to not give a Presidents Medal to CISF DIG Vinay Tosh Mishra on Independence Day despite his name reportedly being on the list of police awardees is threatening to blow up into a controversy in Orissa.

While former law minister Narasingha Mishra has petitioned the President,senior police officers are calling the incident outrageous,condemnable and a direct interference in the matters of police administration. Some are demanding in private that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik be prosecuted for not fulfilling a constitutional obligation,others say Mishras family should sue him for defamation.

According to sources in the police,minutes before the investiture ceremony,a senior IPS officer told Mishra that his medal would be sent to him later. The Chief Minister allegedly vetoed giving a medal to the DIG,on account of his involvement in the 2006 Kalinganagar police firing incident in which 14 tribals were killed. Mishra was the Superintendent of Police of Jajpur district at the time and the tribals had been opposing construction of a boundary wall for a proposed Tata Steel plant.

As an embarrassed Mishra lodged a complaint with Chief Secretary Ajit Kumar Tripathy,the official explanation given was that there was some confusion over whether the medal should be given in Orissa or by the CISF. An Orissa-cadre IPS officer,Mishra went on deputation to the CISF last year and is currently posted at Bokaro in Jharkhand.

The CISF has its own medal-giving ceremony,which is held in Delhi,so we are requesting the Director General of CISF to award the medal to him. The medal has been sent, Additional Director General of Police Prakash Mishra said.

DGP Manmohan Praharaj and Home Secretary Aditya Padhi were not available for comments on Monday despite repeated attempts.

Anger is brewing within the police ranks in Orissa now over the way Mishra who had even participated in a rehearsal for the investiture ceremony on August 14 had been treated. Speaking to The Indian Express,a DIG-ranked officer said Patnaik can be prosecuted under the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act,1971,as the Presidents Medal is an honour. The CM has to give the medal under constitutional obligations. By denying the medal to Mishra,the Chief Minister is sending the message that policemen can no longer fire at tribals even if they violate law and order. On the one hand he is asking that the police set-up be strengthened,and on the other,he is trying his best to undermine the police, the DIG said.