Senior SIT officer's transfer will affect sacrilege case, says Phoolka to EC

Senior advocate H S Phoolka in a letter to Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Wednesday said that the transfer of senior Special Investigation Team (SIT) officer Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh by the Election Commission (EC) will hamper the investigation into the sacrilege cases. Calling Singh's transfer "unfortunate," Phoolka said: "The investigation has reached a very crucial stage and is likely to be concluded soon. At this stage, his transfer is likely to adversely affect the investigation."

Further adding that the action is "overstepping" on the part of the ECI, he said: "The officer, being in SIT, is not in any way connected to the election duty and has no direct role in the conduct of the elections." "The ECI has no power to ask for the transfer of an officer who is not connected with the election process in any way."

Requesting Punjab government to send a letter informing the EC about the adverse effect of its decision on the investigation, Phoolka said, "Punjab government has asked for a review of the order but has not made the case of adverse effect on the investigation. I request you to send another letter urging these grounds for the review of the order." Earlier, the EC had ordered the Punjab government to transfer Singh for violating the Model Code of Conduct. Punjab government had subsequently posted Singh as Inspector General of Police (IG), Counterintelligence, in Amritsar. 

(With inputs from agencies.)