Retired IG’s daughter gets UP cop sacked by dad reinstated | Lucknow News

BAREILLY: Perhaps there’s a courtroom drama waiting to be made into a movie. Advocate daughter takes on IGP dad, fights charged legal battle, and finally returns to hapless constable the job – and honour – he lost after a departmental inquiry.Here’s how it all happened: Lawyer Anura Singh and her father, former IG of Bareilly range, Dr Rakesh Singh, found themselves facing each other in a courtroom tussle over the fate of a UP police head constable who was accused of molesting a minor and terminated from service. Anura, practising at Allahabad high court, not only presented her case successfully but also got her client, Tofeek Ahmad, reinstated.The father and daughter insist there was no personal clash. “There was none,” Anura told TOI on Saturday. “My dad acted as a govt representative, and I as a lawyer. UP Police policy is clear: an officer’s conduct must not compromise the department’s reputation, and this case involved the Pocso Act. As the appellate authority, he had the power to deny reinstatement, but the HC stands above any govt office, which is why we sought and got relief.“She added: “We were both just doing our jobs. Even though my father represented the govt’s side and I stood at the opposite end, I fulfilled my duty and secured my client’s reinstatement orders. The compliance will now be sent to SSP Bareilly, following which, my client will officially regain his position.” The HC order came out on July 31 and it was available earlier in the week.Singh added: “I’m proud of her. Anura performed her work in a professional capacity, and I stayed within the legal framework. I’ve told her to keep working hard, as she has a long and promising career ahead of her.”My lawyer put truth above family ties: Cop The case itself dates back to Jan 2023 when Ahmad was arrested for allegedly molesting a 17-year-old girl, a BSF jawan’s daughter, aboard the Triveni Express. Following a complaint, Ahmad was suspended, and after a departmental probe, IG Singh (now retired) ordered his termination. Though later acquitted by a lower court due to “lapses” in investigation, Ahmad’s plea for reinstatement was rejected by Singh in his official capacity.Unaware of her family connection, Ahmad approached Anura for legal help. She agreed and took on the case, arguing that the termination was “flawed”. HC agreed, quashing both the inquiry report and the disciplinary action that had followed. Ahmad is both ecstatic and flabbergasted. Speaking warmly of his “saviour”, he said, “I never knew the lawyer defending me was the daughter of the officer who’d ordered my dismissal. She put truth above family ties and upheld her duty to the law. She saved my job…”