In a surprise move, the Punjab government on Thursday brought back additional director general of police (ADGP) Harpreet Sidhu in the Special Task Force (STF) formed by Captain Amarinder Singh government to fight drugs.
The development is being considered as a rehabilitation of Sidhu, who was abruptly removed as the head of the STF in September 2018 to be posted as special principal secretary in chief minister’s office (CMO), where he didn’t have anything major to do.
Once a blue-eyed boy of Amarinder, Sidhu was specially repatriated from his deputation in the CRPF when he was posted in Naxal-hit Chhattisgarh to head the STF against drugs.
As the STF head, he was asked to report directly to the chief minister and not to the DGP’s office, and was also given the additional charge of ADGP (borders).
However, the equations between the ADGP and the chief minister’s office turned sour soon after, as during the internal bickering within the top brass of the Punjab Police, Sidhu was assumed to be siding with another DGP-rank officer Sidharth Chattopadhyaya, who was caught in a cold war with the then DGP Suresh Arora (now retired) and present DGP Dinkar Gupta. At the centre of the controversy in this infighting was the Inderjit drug case.
Not only was he divested of the charge as ADGP (borders) but also removed as the STF head, and replaced by DGP Mohd Mustafa. Later, the government also ordered that STF will function under the DGP’s office.
{{/usCountry}}Not only was he divested of the charge as ADGP (borders) but also removed as the STF head, and replaced by DGP Mohd Mustafa. Later, the government also ordered that STF will function under the DGP’s office.
{{/usCountry}}This is the reason why the 1992-batch officer Sidhu, who is famous for his ‘my way or high way’ style of functioning, will now have to report to DGP Dinkar Gupta and this is why Amarinder’s move to bring him back in the STF has left many surprised and his detractors ‘high and dry’.
To bring Sidhu back in the STF, it is learnt, is a sudden move, as during the first list of transfers that came out at around 1pm on Thursday, Gurpreet Deo, who had taken over as the STF after Mustafa’s transfer, was mentioned as ADGP (STF). Later, in the evening, the government posted Deo as ADGP (crime).
During his earlier stint in the STF, Sidhu to his credit has the launch of ‘Buddy’ and ‘Drug Abuse Prevention Officer (DAPO)’ projects which earned praise from the government.
A large section of the Congress and the opposition parties had praised Sidhu as the STF chief when he conducted a high court ordered probe against former revenue minister Bikram Majithia in a drug case investigated by the enforcement directorate.