Suspended IPS officer Girish Singhal takes charge as commandant

GANDHINAGAR: IPS officer Girish Singhal, an accused in the Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case, today took charge as a Group Commandant in State Reserve Police here.

Singhal took charge as the Commandant of the SRP Group 12, official sources said. The officer was reinstated by Anandi Patel-led Gujarat government on May 28. The state home department had sanctioned his proposal for reinstatement.

In February 2012, Singhal was suspended by the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi-led state government after he was arrested by the CBI in connection with the encounter case from his post of Superintendent of Police in Kheda district.

Following his arrest and suspension, IPS Singhal had tendered his resignation from the Indian Police Service (IPS) and alleged that the state government had failed to protect him. However, it was not accepted by Gujarat government citing some technical issues.

Singhal, the key accused in the encounter case, had spilled the beans of the state government when CBI probing the encounter case has captured a pen drive which contained alleged taped conservations between Singhal and Amit Shah, who had allegedly instructed to carry out illegal surveillance of a woman architect at the behest of one "Saheb".

Some of the audio tapes has also revealed that top state ministers and law officers had allegedly tried to derail the probe of the fake encounter.