KP Gill is another rogue cop who should be stripped of all medals for outraging the modesty of Rupan Deol Bajaj.
Rupan Deol wants Gill’s Padma Shri taken back
Chandigarh, January 5
The Centre’s decision to strip police officers convicted of “moral turpitude” off medals and awards fuelled a demand by an ex-woman IAS officer today that the Padma Shri award be taken back from Punjab’s former “supercop” KPS Gill convicted for outraging her modesty.
Gill, who is credited with retrieving Punjab from insurgency, dismissed the demand as “nonsense.”
Rupan Deol Bajaj wanted the Centre to move against Gill in the same manner as it was proceeding against ex-Haryana top cop SPS Rathore to strip him off his police medal in the aftermath of the Ruchika molestation cae.
“Gill’s case is also one of moral turpitude. All his medals and the Padma Shri should be taken away,” said Bajaj, who is currently a Information Commissioner in Punjab.
“It is very necessary that some kind of message should go out to society that such persons do not deserve to have these high decoration,” Bajaj said.
“I think Ruchika would not have been molested had KPS Gill not be given Padma Shri. Because(Rathore) knew that if such things happen even to IAS officer,they can get away, a top cop can get away with it,” she said.
Gill said retrospective punishment for award and medal recipients for services rendered by them was “against the law”. Gill, a recipient of several police medals, also appeared to suggest that he was not unduly bothered if the medals given to him were taken away by the government.
“Who is bothered about that medal. I never asked for it. They gave it to me. They can take away all 20 medals,” Gill said.
He was in 1996 found guilty of outraging modesty of Bajaj by a trial court after she complained in 1988 that the police officer “pinched” her “posterior” at a party where he was alleged to be drunk.
Talking to the media, Gill said he had not asked for the Padma Shri and so he did not care whether the government took it away from him.
Gill was the DGP of Punjab and Bajaj a senior IAS officer at the time of the incident. He was sentenced by a trial court to pay a fine of Rs 2 lakh, be imprisoned rigorously for 3 months and simply for 2 months.
With a precedent being set for the withdrawal of medals awarded to Rathore, questions are being asked whether this would mean Gill could lose his awards.
— PTI