Chandigarh, May 1
Three Superintendents of Police and eight Deputy Superintendents of Police, some of whom were named in the infamous change of home district case, have been ordered to be shifted from their present field postings.
The Election Commission has ordered that Mr S.K. Agnihotri, Mr Darshan Kumar and Mr Baljit Singh Randhawa (all SPs), and Mr Sandeep Kumar Sharma, Mr Devinder Singh, Mr R.K. Bakshi, Mr Mandeep Singh, Mr Balraj Singh, Mr Jagiri Lal, Mr Jaspreet Singh Sidhu and Mr Rajinderpal Anand (DSPs), should be immediately transferred from their present positions.
With these orders, the number of police officers transferred at the instance of the Election Commission include an Inspector-General of Police (IGP), two Deputy Inspectors-General (DIGs), two Senior Superintendents of Police (SSPs), three SPs and 15 DSPs.
The Election Commission has also ordered that Dr Lakhbir Singh, Senior Medical Officer (SMO), posted at Tersika in Amritsar, should be shifted immediately.
Only yesterday, the Punjab Home Secretary, Mr Sanjit Kumar Sinha, proceeded on ex-India leave to go to England to visit a relative there.
The commission has also reportedly sought a report from the Commissioner of Jalandhar Division about the role of Mr Bharat Inder Singh Chahal, Media Adviser to the Chief Minister, the District Transport Officers of Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur and some Public Relations employees in the press conference on wheels addressed by the Chief Minister at Jalandhar a couple of days ago.
Opposition political parties and their candidates had been constantly protesting and sending representations against the posting of certain police officers who, they alleged, were partisan and had been given field postings to influence the outcome of the Lok Sabha elections.
The worst hit has been Majitha police district from where two SPs and a DSP were shifted today.
Mr S.K. Agnihotri, SP, whose home district had been changed from Amritsar to Jalandhar on the eve of elections, has now been posted as SP (Operations) at Gurdaspur. His place at Majitha will be taken by Mr Darshan Kumar. Mr Baljit Singh Randhawa is the second SP in Majitha police district to be moved out. He also had got his home district changed from Amritsar to Jalandhar. Now he goes as SP (Operations), Batala.
Some of the DSPs who got their home districts changed to stay in the cities of their domicile but have been posted out now are Mr Sandeep Kumar Sharma (from Amritsar to Gurdaspur), Mr R.K. Bakshi (Ludhiana to Moga), Mr Balraj Singh (Majitha to Batala), and Mr Jaspreet Singh Sidhu (Samana to Fatehgarh Sahib).
Mr Rajinderpal Anand, who had figured in the Daler Mehndi case, now gets a posting in Samana.
