SLAPPING INCIDENTS FROM THE PAST STILL RESONATE IN POWER CORRIDORS

Jaipur: In the administrative history of the state, incidents of slapping have occurred before, and though many years have passed, the severity of those incidents still resonates today. While in the most recent case, the victim is a RAS officer, the earlier slapping incidents involved an IAS officer and an IPS officer, both of whom were young at the time. These events occurred in a period when today’s generation of young officers had not entered service.

The first major incident took place on December 6, 1997, involving an IAS officer. At that time, the state was under BJP rule with Bhairon Singh Shekhawat as Chief Minister. The IAS officer involved was PK Deb, who was serving as the Secretary in the Irrigation Department. He was slapped by Minister Devi Singh Bhati, the Irrigation Minister. The incident occurred in the Minister’s chamber at the Secretariat, and the cause of the altercation was that Deb had blacklisted a construction company for its illegal activities. However, Bhati intended to award future contracts to that very same company. Initially, Bhati summoned Deb to his office, attempting to pressure him into altering the files. When Deb refused to comply, Bhati became enraged and physically assaulted him.

Deb filed an FIR against Bhati at the Ashok Nagar police station. Chief Minister Bhairon Singh Shekhawat deemed the incident serious enough to immediately remove Bhati from his ministerial position. The investigation into the matter dragged on for years, and it wasn’t until 22 years later that it was conclusively proven that the minister had indeed slapped Deb. In 2019, a challan was filed against Bhati, and the case is still pending in the appellate court. Deb, who had retired in 2013, continues to await a resolution.

The second incident involving an IPS officer occurred in 2001, also more than two decades ago. In this case, Congress MLA Babulal Singharia of the then ruling party slapped 1986-batch IPS officer Alok Tripathi, who was serving as the Superintendent of Police in Ajmer. The incident took place on June 30, 2007, during a meeting of administrative officials and public representatives at the Ajmer Collectorate. The confrontation between Singharia and Tripathi escalated over an issue, and in a heated moment, the MLA slapped the officer in front of everyone present. At the time, Ashok Gehlot was the Chief Minister of Rajasthan.

An FIR was registered against Singharia at the Civil Lines police station in Ajmer. In addition, Singharia was expelled from the Congress party, despite his considerable influence. The legal proceedings dragged on for years, with a total of 20 witnesses, including IAS officer Usha Sharma, who was the collector of Ajmer at the time. On March 21, 2023, the court delivered its verdict, 22 years after the incident. Singharia was found guilty under sections 332 and 353 of the IPC and was sentenced to three months in prison and fined Rs 50,000. The case is now under appeal in a higher court. Alok Tripathi, the victim of this second incident, later rose to become the DG of ACB and retired in Sept 2020. Though both incidents took more than two decades to reach a verdict, both IAS & IPS officers eventually received justice. It is noteworthy that, unlike today, there was no widespread hype, uproar, or protests surrounding these incidents, nor were they politicised or given any caste-based colour.