COMMITTEES

Andhra Pradesh

There was an attempt on the life of Shri N. Chandrababu Naidu, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, on October 1, 2003 by the Naxalites while he was travelling from Tirupati to Tirumala.
The Government of Andhra Pradesh decided to institute an inquiry into the incident
“(a) to determine the circumstances leading to incident of mine blast including the identification of lapses; and
(b) to suggest short term and long-term measures to prevent recurrence of such incidents; and improvements in the extant security set up for the Chief Minister and other VVIPs”.
The Inquiry was conducted by Singh under the Commission of Inquiry Act, 1952. The Commission submitted its report on Feb 6, 2004, pointing out the weaknesses and flaws in the police arrangements. Bureaucracy’s failings were also exposed. The short- term and long-term recommendations made by the Committee were generally accepted by the state government.

Haryana

There were serious disturbances across the State of Haryana during February 2016 as a result of agitation for reservations. Eight districts of the state were particularly affected. The State Government, decided to appoint a One-man Committee “to inquire into the acts of omission and commission on part of all officers and officials of both police and civil administration during the period 7th – 22nd February 2016 when the Jat reservation agitation resulted in blockade of roads including National Highways, in violence and extensive damage to public and private properties in many districts”. Prakash Singh was entrusted with the responsibility.
The Committee visited all the districts, inspected the scenes of major incidents, talked to the aggrieved persons, and also interacted with the officers. It turned out to be a painstaking exercise in the course of which the Committee heard 2217 persons drawn from different walks of life.
More than a hundred video films of scenes shot during the agitation were received by the Committee. The Committee also interacted with about two hundred officers of the affected districts. The Inquiry was completed within a period of seventy days and the findings given in a Report running into 450 pages in two volumes.
The Committee indicted 5 IAS officers, 5 IPS officers, and 80 other government officers. It also made comprehensive recommendations to tone up the administration, especially for reforms in the civil services and the police, and to fix liability for damages.