July 2025

Dr Paresh Saxena, a senior IPS officer of the Bihar cadre, has returned the President’s Police Medal citing repeated denial of empanelment to the post of additional director under the 360-degree review of civil servants introduced in 2020, which according to him, is “shrouded in secrecy,”

He is currently posted in Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB)

Among those he accused is a now-retired IPS officer who Saxena said made several unfounded allegations against him in his appraisal reports, including that he has “a deep base in RSS”.

The retired IPS officer served as director general (DG) of the Bureau of Police Research & Development (BPR&D) when Saxena was posted there in 2022.

In the empanelment process, the feedback is gathered from serving and retired officers who have worked with the candidate.

His name was announced for the President’s Medal for Distinguished Services this Republic Day.

The empanelment, based on the multi-source feedback (MSF) or 360-degree process, which does not share the grounds for rejection with affected officers

When he was posted in the SSB, he investigated three important cases of corruption, which antagonised a section of cadre officers of the force.

The first, he said, involved the Leave Travel Concession (LTC) scam, which implicated persons of all ranks, including at least two former DGs.

The second, he said, was regarding procurement of I-CAS, an AI-based intelligence collation and analysis software procured from a private firm for approximately Rs 3.68 crore on 4 October, 2019, but never operationalised. “My detailed inquiry report (512 pages) was submitted on 15 December, 2021, highlighting how six officers made a vendor-driven procurement in complete disregard of procedure and by misinforming the MHA,” the letter alleged.

Saxena also presided over a General Force Court, trying charges of corruption against a DIG-level officer, he wrote in the letter, adding that he sentenced the officer to imprisonment and dismissal on 30 June, 2021, and the officer served his sentence at Tihar Jail.

an old Supreme Court ruling which had upheld the deputation of IPS officers in the CAPFs.