Maharashtra IPS Officer Quits in Protest Against CAB
Image Courtesy: The Indian Express
The recipient of Maharashtra's highest state award for communal harmony, Mahatma Gandhi Peace Award 2008, Inspector General Abdur Rahman, IPS, resigned on Wednesday (December 11) evening in protest against the Citizenship Amendment Bill 2019. He issued a statement saying that "as civil disobedience, I have decided to not continue in service." He was serving as the Inspector General for Maharashtra Human Rights Commission. His statement was issued before the Bill was tabled in the Rajya Sabha, following which the Bill received the President’s assent on December 12 and has now become an Act.
His statement read, "It (this bill) clearly discriminates against the people belonging to Muslim community. The bill is totally unconstitutional and against the very basic feature of equality before law. It violates article 14, 15 and 25 of the Indian Constitution."
Rahman was appointed as IG in 2019. Earlier he has served in various positions across Maharashtra. He is an IIT graduate and 1997 batch IPS officer. He has also served as a commandant of the State Reserve Police Force (SRPF). During his tenure as Additional SP in Yavatmal, he had successfully controlled a riot.
Rahman has also written two books. His latest book Denial and Deprivation - Indian Muslims After the Sachchar Committee and Rangnath Mishra Commission Reports has received critical acclaim from social activists, experts and journalists.
The statement issued by Rahman further read, "We have heard repeatedly that this will be implemented along with NRC. We have seen the result of NRC exercise in the state of Assam where about 19 lakh people are kept out of NRC and among them 14 to 15 lakh belong to Hindu community."
He has appealed the people belonging to 'all deprived sections i.e. SCs, STs, OBCs and Muslims to oppose the Bill in a democratic manner.' He has also requested the 'tolerant, secular and justice loving Hindu brothers to oppose the bill.'
"I am quitting the service finally. I say sorry to those people who want me to continue in service to give the justice to deprived people," his statement declared.
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