Centre-State clash over Jharkhand DGP Anurag Gupta: Police chief denied May salary

Jharkhand Director General of Police (DGP) Anurag Gupta has not received his salary for the month of May, caught in the crossfire of a growing administrative standoff between the Centre and the State over his retirement status.

According to the Office of the Accountant General (AG), Ranchi, Gupta was issued a “zero pay-slip” for May, as his records reflect retirement on April 30, 2025. The AG office maintains that it received no official communication from the state government confirming any extension of service.

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In contrast, the Jharkhand government insists that Gupta has been granted a service extension and continues to serve as the state’s top police officer. However, the delay in forwarding the requisite salary bill to the treasury—typically a procedural step—has revealed the deeper disagreement at play.

The Ministry of Home Affairs had written to the Jharkhand Chief Secretary on April 22, confirming that Gupta, an Indian Police Service officer, would retire on April 30. Despite this, the state proceeded on the assumption that he would remain in service.

Salary payments for IAS and IPS officers in Jharkhand follow a clearly laid out protocol, with pay-slips issued by the AG’s office based on the officer’s service status as reported by the concerned department. In Gupta’s case, the absence of updated service status has led to the salary impasse.

The ambiguity extends beyond salary. Without formal confirmation of either retirement or extension, Gupta’s pension entitlements and other dues remain unsettled, the AG office said.

The episode has drawn parallels to the 2021 case of former West Bengal Chief Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay, whose post-retirement appointment by the state led to a similar jurisdictional tussle with the Centre.

Until a formal notification is issued by the state clarifying Gupta’s service status, both his salary and official standing hang in the balance.