Amitabh Gupta appointed Pune Police Commissioner. | Photo credit: Times Now
Pune: IPS officer Amitabh Gupta, who was embroiled in a controversy for granting Wadhaw residents written permission to travel to Mahabaleshwar during the coronavirus-induced nationwide lockdown in April, has been appointed Pune Police Commissioner.
A great controversy had erupted after 23 members of the Wadhawan family, violated the closure orders and drove to the hill station near Mumbai in five cars, even as the entire country remained confined to their homes. When authorities learned of their presence, civic bodies sent members of the Wadhawan family to a quarantine center in the Satara district of Maharashtra.
Times Now’s Kajal reported that it appears there were instructions from the top as Gupta received a clean note throughout the episode and was appointed Pune Police Chief within four months. In his explanation to the commission of inquiry, Gupta had said that he used to receive numerous such requests and, in good faith, approved Wadhawans’ request.
Following the uproar over the incident, the government of Maharashtra had sent Gupta, who was then the Chief (Special) Secretary of Maharashtra, on compulsory leave.
A great controversy had broken out over Wadhawans Mahabaleshwar. Former Maharashtra Chief Minister and BJP Leader Devendra Fadnavis criticized the Maha Vikas Aghadi government for the incident and asked Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and Interior Minister Anil Deshmukh for an explanation.
“Are there no confinements for the powerful and the rich in Maharashtra? Holidays in Mahabaleshwar can be spent with the official permission of the police. It is not possible for a senior IPS official to make such a serious mistake knowing the consequences for himself. With what order or blessings was this done? Mr. CM and HM, you owe us an explanation, ”said Fadnavis on the social media platform Twitter.
Kapil Wadhawan, Dheeraj Wadhawan charged in Yes Bank and DHFL fraud case
The leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Kirit Somaiya, strongly opposed Amitabh Gupta being appointed Chief of Police for Pune.
In particular, the director of Dewan Housing Finance Ltd (DHFL) promoters, Kapil Wadhawan and Dheeraj Wadhawan, are indicted in the Yes Bank and DHFL fraud case involving money laundering. The Wadhawans were arrested in Mahabaleshwar on April 26 by the Central Bureau of Investigation and were later arrested by the DE.
The ED filed its charge sheet on July 15 against the Wadhawans, Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor, his wife Bindu Kapoor, their daughters Roshni and Rekha, and their public accountant firm Dularesh K Jain and his partner.
