Applicants: PSC interviewer should have recused himself

Several of the 12 candidates shortlisted for the posts of Commissioner and Deputy Commissioners of police have said one of the interviewers should have recused himself because he previously shared a working relationship with the PSC’s nominee for commissioner.

Sources said that interviewer worked alongside acting DCP Deodath Dulalchan as constables in the fingerprint section and also lived close to him before he moved to another area in the Central Division. The short-listed applicants felt the interviewer should have recused himself because of his relationship with Dulalchan.

They believed this information should have been brought to the attention of PSC chairman Marie Therese Gomes so that a decision could be made on whether the interviewer should be allowed to sit on the panel. That interviewer also had a casting vote on who should be the nominee for commissioner and chose Dulalchan.

Several senior police officers said they felt the entire process of the selection of the CoP was bungled by a range of errors and they feel the government should only accept the selection process by KPMG, then have all the interviews redone by a new PSC. They are also calling for President Carmona to find new members for the PSC, especially as Gomes’ tenure ended on Monday. The interviewer could not be reached for comment on his relationship with Dulalchan.