Haryana government on Friday re-instated three more Haryana Civil Service (HCS) officers, who were suspended for showing negligence of duty during the violent Jat agitation occurred in 2016.

The order for the re-instatement of three officers, namely Amit Bhatia, Surender Singh and Vinod Kumar were issued by office of Home Secretary Ram Niwas.

Advertisement

During the agitation, Bhatia was posted as Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) at Rohtak, Surender Singh as DSP Meham while Vinod Kumar as DSP Gohana.

Earlier in April 2017, the state government has re-instated three HCS officers, including Pankaj Kumar posted then as Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Jhajjar, Jagdeep Singh the then SDM, Hansi and another SDM Dharmendra Singh.

In May 2016, the Haryana government had suspended 13 officers, including three SDMs and 10 DSPs, after the Prakash Singh Inquiry Committee, which had probed laxity on behalf of the officials in handling the Jat reservation agitation in February, 2016, submitted its report.

Out of 13, the government has re-instated nine officers.

A total of 31 people were killed and hundreds were injured during the violent agitation in the state in February 2016. Besides, property worth hundreds of Crores of rupees were also damaged and destroyed.

The Prakash Singh Committee, which was appointed on February 25, 2016, had enquired into the alleged acts of omission and commission on the part of officials of both police and civil administration during the agitation from February 7 to 22, that year.

The enquiry panel had inquired into the role of officers starting from the rank of Sub-Inspector to SP in police and Naib Tehsildar or duty Magistrate to the rank of Deputy Commissioner in civil administration in the riot-affected districts of Rohtak, Jhajjar, Jind, Hisar, Kaithal, Bhiwani, Sonepat and Panipat.

The panel report, which is in two volumes, had expressed shock over the gross lapses on part of the policemen who deserted their posts and ran away from the scene of crime during the Jat stir. The Committee had heard 2,217 persons from different walks of life while 143 video footages was received and 395 statements were recorded on the spot.