Bengaluru: The Karnataka government on Friday “relieved” MLC K Govindaraj as political secretary to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and shunted out Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Intelligence, Hemant Nimbalkar in connection with June 4 stampede that killed 11 people, official sources said.
These decisions came a day after Siddaramaiah suspended Bengaluru police commissioner B Dayananda and four other senior police officials.
The stampede occurred on Wednesday evening in front of the Chinnaswamy stadium here, where a large number of people thronged to participate in the RCB team’s IPL victory celebrations. Eleven people died and 56 were injured in the incident.
“The appointment of K Govindaraj as Political Secretary to the Chief Minister is hereby revoked with immediate effect. Accordingly, K Govindaraj is hereby relieved from the post of Political Secretary to the Chief Minister with immediate effect,” an official notification said.
Though no official reason was given for Govindaraj’s removal, the decision is said to be linked to the June 4 incident, according to official sources.
Amid allegations of intelligence failure over the stampede and the administration’s inaction in this regard, the government has decided to transfer ADGP, Intelligence, Hemant Nimbalkar, and senior IPS officer Ravi S will replace him.
“Hemant M. Nimbalkar, IPS (KN 1998) Additional Director General of Police, Intelligence is transferred with immediate effect and posted until further orders as Additional Director General of Police & Commissioner, Department of Information and Public Relations, Bengaluru,” the official notification said.
“Ravi S, IPS (KN 1998) Additional Director General of Police & Principal Secretary to Government (PCAS), Bengaluru is transferred with immediate effect and posted until further orders as Additional Director General of Police, Intelligence vice Hemant M Nimbalkar, transferred,” it added.
Conceding that there was an intelligence failure in connection with the stampede incident, the CM on Thursday said, “No decision has been made yet about what action to be taken in this regard. We have discussed it.”
