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Election Commission removes 3
Punjab officials
WSN Network
Chandigarh: The
Election Commission of India ordered removal of three senior
officers — Principal Secretary, Home; DIG (Border Range); and
Amritsar (Rural) SSP — and asked Punjab to make new appointments in
their place. Principal Secretary (Home) Sudhir Mittal, DIG (Border
Range) Parampal Singh Sidhu, and Amritsar (Rural) SSP R.S. were
shunted out and state government sent panels of names to the EC for
approval to appoint new officers.
Mittal was
appointed Home Secretary on October 30 on return from Central
deputation, replacing Dr B.C.Gupta. Sidhu has been DIG (Border
Range) for the past eight months, while Khatra was posted as
Amritsar (Rural) SSP during a police reshuffle just before the
announcement of polls.
The EC took the
decision to shift the three after receiving complaints that the
state government had issued a notification for changing the
jurisdiction of three police stations in Amritsar district on March
2, the day the elections were announced and the model code of
conduct came into force.
The government
had transferred the jurisdiction of Jandiala Guru, Rajasansi and
Sarai Amanat Khan police stations from
Amritsar
City
to Amritsar Rural police districts. By another notification, it had
also changed the jurisdiction of Dakha police station from
Ludhiana
City
to Jagraon police district. The complaints also alleged that the
jurisdiction was changed at the behest of local Akali MLAs. Khatra
is widely seen as being close to Akalis. The move shows the total
politicisation of
Punjab
police and bureaucracy.
11
March 2009
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