'Glaring example of ruling SAD's highhandedness'
"The alleged killing of the Gharinda (Amritsar) assistant sub-inspector Ravinder Pal Singh by Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Ranjit Singh Rana on Wednesday is a glaring example of highhandedness of the ruling SAD," Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) member Raman Bahl said on Thursday.
"The alleged killing of the Gharinda (Amritsar) assistant sub-inspector Ravinder Pal Singh by Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Ranjit Singh Rana on Wednesday is a glaring example of highhandedness of the ruling SAD," Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) member Raman Bahl said on Thursday.
Condemning the incident, Bahl said the ruling SAD-BJP alliance had completely politicised the state police. It was for the first time in the history of the state that ruling alliance's MLA concerned was "functioning" as the station house officer (SHO) in an assembly constituency, he said.
Bahl added that in a bizarre incident in September 2010, a police patrol in the town was assaulted by the armed Akali activists, which left three policemen and two Punjab home guards injured. They were hospitalised. The injured included Punjab Police head constables Kanchan Kishore, Gurmukh Singh and Dwarka Dass and home guard jawans Jasbir Singh and Dalbir Singh. The assailants included six people, including Gurpreet Singh, Gagandeep Singh and Harpreet Singh, all residents of Babbehali village, to which the then and sitting SAD MLA Gurbachan Singh Babbehali belonged, the PPCC member said.
Three accused were identified as Rajan Bhatti and Inderbir Singh, residents of Nawan Pind Jhawar and Daman in Gurdaspur. Police had arrested all the accused and booked them under Section 307 of the IPC.
Later, they were released on bail. Bahl said it was for the first time in the state that in order to tighten the grip of the local MLA over the local police, a deputy superintendent of police (DSP) had been deployed in an assembly constituency, against the earlier provision when a DSP was deputed in a sub-division. Bahal claimed that as of now, police force was totally demoralised, which could lead to a state of anarchy in Punjab.
The PPCC member warned that by resorting to political vendetta against the Congress leaders and workers, the ruling alliance had virtually misused police, which had set an unhealthy precedent.