M A I N   N E W S

EC shifts Ludhiana top cop, 3 DCs, 4 SSPs
Varinder Singh
Tribune News Service

Poll shuffle New DCs: Kavita Singh (Sangrur), Karuna Raju (Fazilka), Priyank Bharti (Patiala) New SSPs: Rahul S (Ferozepur), S. Bhupati (Moga), Jagdale Nilambari Vijay (Fazilka), Bikram Pal Singh Bhatti (Mansa) Sanjiv Kalra posted as Commissioner of Police Ludhiana

Chandigarh, April 1
In a major jolt to the SAD-BJP government in Punjab, the Election Commission of India has transferred three deputy commissioners (DC), a police commissioner and four senior superintendents of police (SSP) following complaints by the Congress and other parties that several of these officers were “favouring” the combine and its candidates.

For the first time, the EC did not ask the Punjab Government for a panel before replacing these officers. Rather, it sought a record of all officers and hand-picked some on its own for their new postings.

Broadly, the complaints against the officers who have been posted out were that they had been “favouring” the SAD-BJP combine and its candidates. All the SSPs who have been posted out were PPS officers while most officers who replaced them are from the IPS.

The poll panel communiqué received by the Punjab Election Commission said Kavita Singh had been posted as the Sangrur Deputy Commissioner in place of Indu Malhotra. Karuna Raju will be the new Fazilka Deputy Commissioner, while Priyank Bharti replaces GK Singh as the Patiala DC. Sanjiv Kalra has been posted as Commissioner of Police Ludhiana.

While Rahul S has been posted as SSP Ferozepur, S. Bhupati will replace Kanwaljit Singh Dhillon as Moga SSP. Jagdale Nilambari Vijay will replace Ashok Kumar Bath as SSP Fazilka while Bikram Pal Singh Bhatti is the new Mansa SSP, replacing Bhupinder Singh Khatra. A separate detailed order in respect of the transfers of police officers was issued by the Department of Home Affairs and Justice, Punjab, late in the evening.

Punjab Chief Electoral Officer VK Singh had released a book by outgoing Patiala DC GK Singh hours before the transfer orders were issued.

The Punjab Congress is learnt to have moved the EC alleging that the Ferozepur police was implicating Congress workers at the behest of the ruling combine. Congress MLA Parminder Pinki had alleged that SSP Manminder Singh was “threatening” sarpanches who were Congress supporters. He had lodged a complaint against the SSP on the EC helpline.

Similar complaints were lodged by AAP against the Mansa and Bathinda police, even as the EC has not transferred any police officer based in Bathinda. Simrarjit Singh Bains, Independent candidate from Ludhiana, had complained that the Ludhiana police had harassed his nephew in a false case. In Patiala, it was alleged that liquor was served during SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal’s recent rally.