18 Jul 2008, 0056 hrs IST, Manoj Mitta,TNN
NEW DELHI: His professional lapses in the Aarushi case — failure to find Hemraj's body on the terrace on the first day and collect forensic evidence from her home — might have cost the investigation dearly. But that has not stopped the former SP of Noida, Mahesh Kumar Mishra, from being promoted to the elite service of IPS within six weeks of the sensational double murder. ( Watch )
Mishra is among the 15 officers of the provincial police service (PPS) figuring in the notification issued by the Centre a fortnight ago elevating them to IPS on the recommendation of the Uttar Pradesh government.
This is despite the fact that within three days of Aarushi's murder, Mishra was shunted out of Noida along with the SHO of the local police station, D R Nanoria, immediately after DGP Vikram Singh admitted that the police had blundered in not discovering Hemraj's body.
Though he was the one who was initially briefing the media about Aarushi's case, Mishra suffered the mortification of swapping places within three days with additional SP Ashok Tripathy, who was then posted at special task force in Allahabad.
Following his recent ascent to the coveted ranks of IPS, Mishra has been posted as SP of Mau in the Azamgarh range. His promotion seems all the more odd because of CBI chief Vijay Shankar's statement last week, after the clean chit to Rajesh Talwar, that the agency would investigate the allegation that the Noida police had destroyed the evidence that was available at the scene of the crime.
Need to make promotions transparent
So, how is the system rewarding Mahesh Kumar Mishra with a promotion when he should have been held to account, as the senior-most officer on the spot, for the police's cavalier disregard to the sanctity of the scene of crime?
One obvious defence available to the government, which initiated the promotion proposal, and the Centre, which endorsed it, is that the promotion was under process long before the murder.
Despite being transferred suddenly from Noida as a reaction to the late discovery of Hemraj's body, Mishra has a reputation of being among the officers close to the state regime. Whatever the reason for his charmed existence, a state service officer is considered for elevation to IPS on the basis of seniority and service records.
The bizarre timing of Mishra's acquisition of the coveted IPS tag serves to highlight the need for the Supreme Court mandated police reforms aimed at, among other things, making uniformed personnel more professional and instituting a more transparent and accountable system of promotions and transfers.
Mishra is among the 15 officers of the provincial police service (PPS) figuring in the notification issued by the Centre a fortnight ago elevating them to IPS on the recommendation of the Uttar Pradesh government.
This is despite the fact that within three days of Aarushi's murder, Mishra was shunted out of Noida along with the SHO of the local police station, D R Nanoria, immediately after DGP Vikram Singh admitted that the police had blundered in not discovering Hemraj's body.
Though he was the one who was initially briefing the media about Aarushi's case, Mishra suffered the mortification of swapping places within three days with additional SP Ashok Tripathy, who was then posted at special task force in Allahabad.
Following his recent ascent to the coveted ranks of IPS, Mishra has been posted as SP of Mau in the Azamgarh range. His promotion seems all the more odd because of CBI chief Vijay Shankar's statement last week, after the clean chit to Rajesh Talwar, that the agency would investigate the allegation that the Noida police had destroyed the evidence that was available at the scene of the crime.
Need to make promotions transparent
So, how is the system rewarding Mahesh Kumar Mishra with a promotion when he should have been held to account, as the senior-most officer on the spot, for the police's cavalier disregard to the sanctity of the scene of crime?
One obvious defence available to the government, which initiated the promotion proposal, and the Centre, which endorsed it, is that the promotion was under process long before the murder.
Despite being transferred suddenly from Noida as a reaction to the late discovery of Hemraj's body, Mishra has a reputation of being among the officers close to the state regime. Whatever the reason for his charmed existence, a state service officer is considered for elevation to IPS on the basis of seniority and service records.
The bizarre timing of Mishra's acquisition of the coveted IPS tag serves to highlight the need for the Supreme Court mandated police reforms aimed at, among other things, making uniformed personnel more professional and instituting a more transparent and accountable system of promotions and transfers.
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