NEW DELHI: Punjab police chief KP.S,Gill whose image has gone up sky-high thanks to upper caste Hindu controlled Indian media, has emerged as the most unwanted man in Jammu and Kashmir either as its governor or director general of police. As such he will have to be content with staying in Punjab for another year after December, Prompted by the well-oiled propaganda machine, the Indian government at one stage wanted to make Gill governor of Kashmir to replace Krishna Rao, a retired Li Gen of the Indian army. But the idea’ came to the army as a shock, according to reports here the army took it as insulting that they should be lorded over by an upstart junior officer of the Indian police Service. Krishna Rao also took it as a humiliation, The prime minister had to retreat in favor of Krishna Rao, Then Gill was willing to settle for his transfer to Kashmir as D.GP. This idea, too, met with a stout Opposition not only from the governor but also from his security advisor LT. Gen M.A. Zaki and Chief secretary Sheikh Ghulam Rasool.

Several other senior police and civil officers too opposed Gill and even threatened to quit in the event of his induction as director general. All these officers expressed the view that the people of Kashmir would completely be alienated from India and all hopes of bringing them to the Indian main stream would collapse if Gill was brought as police chief.

The vacancy of director general police has arisen owing to B.S.Bedi’s refusal to stay there beyond one year of his extended term which, ends on November 30. Bedi is in fact caving Srinagar on October 18 to join as chairman of U.P. Public Service Commission before a popular government Stalls the offer to him.

Meanwhile, in a quiet move the State’s director-general, police, Vigilance, M.N.Sabbherwal has been made the new director general of police of Jammu and Kashmir.

The appointment of police chiefs in almost all sensitive states is done directly by the prime minister, This was confirmed by B.S.Bedi who in a newspaper interview last week revealed that prime minister Rao himself had asked him to take over as Kashmir police chief last year. India pre tends to the world that the law and order is the states’ subject and that the Indian central government had little to do with violations of human rights in the country.

Article extracted from this publication >>  October 1, 1993