Punjab: STF chief Harpreet Sidhu set to go on central deputation
A 1992-batch IPS officer, STF chief Harpreet Sidhu’s name for the central deputation was cleared by the ministry of home affairs on September 13
Punjab’s special director general of police (DGP) (prisons) and chief of special task force (STF) against drugs, Harpreet Sidhu, is set to move on central deputation as ADGP, Indo Tibetan Border Force (ITBP), with the Union home ministry on Thursday asking Punjab chief secretary to relieve the officer.
A 1992-batch IPS officer, Sidhu’s name for the central deputation was cleared by the ministry of home affairs on September 13.
He was not ‘feeling comfortable’ in the present police set-up after his batchmate Gaurav Yadav was appointed as the acting DGP by the present AAP government in Punjab.
Though the special DGP (prisons) was an independent charge for which Sidhu was reporting to the jails department, as an STF head, he was working under the DGP junior to him.
When Captain Amarinder Singh had become Punjab’s chief minister in 2017, Sidhu was handpicked from his deputation in the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) to lead the STF against drugs.
The Punjab government has not given any confirmation yet on another IPS and former DGP VK Bhawra’s appointment at the Centre, whose deputation availability was given the go-ahead by the central government along with Sidhu.
If Bhawra is also adjusted at the Centre after Sidhu, the AAP government may feel easy to appoint Yadav as a regular DGP by sending his name to the Union Public Service Commission as per the procedure laid down by the Supreme Court of India to select DGPs of states.
