Maharshtra government has started a probe into allegations that IPS officer and inspector-general of prisons Jalinder Supekar made changes in the transfer orders of Group A and Group B officers of the jails department even after they were cleared by CM and home minister Devendra Fadnavis.
What is the case?
Supekar, a 2005 batch IPS was posted as IG (Jails) on April 24, 2023 and was put in charge of headquarters.
Mantralaya officials said the incident of alleged tampering of official orders came to light after a Group B officer was promoted and posted as superintendent of Nanded Jail in February 2025. However, he was not allowed to join and was sent as superintendent to Latur Jail by Supekar, who asked the Morshi (Amravati) open jail superintendent to continue with his additional charge of Nanded Jail.
After the promoted officer moved the Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal and brought the matter to the notice of the higher-ups in Mantralaya, Supekar made him an assistant of the acting superintendent of Nanded Jail.
Principal secretary in the home department (appeals and security) Radhika Rastogi, who is also in charge of jails, said, “We found a case wherein a transfer of a Group B officer was changed. Supekar issued orders at his level, which was in violation of the government order. He exceeded his authority. There seem to be other cases too. We issued a show cause notice to Supekar but the answer he gave was unsatisfactory.”
Supekar is already into controversy
Supekar was also in another controversy recently when he was accused of attempting to protect his nephew Shashank and his family in the Vaishnavi Hagawane dowry harassment-suicide case. Vaishnavi, the wife of Shashank and daughter-in-law of expelled NCP leader Rajendra Hagawane, died by suicide on May 16 in her marital home in Pimpri-Chinchwad. Her family has alleged that she was tortured by her in-laws for dowry. The police have arrested the Hagawane family.
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