Cong, AAP seek review of the EC order of transfer of IPS officer

A delegation comprising representatives of the Congress and the AAP Tuesday called upon the Chief Election Commissioner demanding a review of the EC order of divesting IPS officer Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh of his charge as inspector general (IG) of police, crime. The delegation comprised Punjab Congress president Sunil Jakhar, cabinet minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa, senior advocate and MLA H S Phoolka, AAP MLA and Leader of Opposition of Punjab Assembly Harpal Singh Cheema and MLA Nazar Singh.

The delegation urged the Election Commission to review its order of shifting the IPS officer, following a complaint filed by the SAD, a copy of the memorandum said. They accused the Akali Dal of filling a false complaint against Singh, who was the member of the SIT, formed by the Congress.

"By filing a false complaint and misleading the commission, they (SAD) have obtained the order of transfer which will not only delay the investigation but also adversely affect the line of investigation," the memorandum submitted to the EC said. Following a complaint lodged by the Akali Dal against the IPS officer, the EC had directed the Punjab government earlier this month to divest him of his present post for "violating" the model code of conduct.

Besides being a member of the Special Investigation Team probing 2015 sacrilege and police firing incidents, Singh was also holding the charge of IGP Crime and an additional charge of the organised crime control unit (OCCU). After the directions of the EC, the Punjab government had posted him as IG Counter Intelligence (Amritsar).

The EC had observed in its order that a TV interview of the IPS officer was "politically motivated" and the contents of the part of the interview had political connotations and the potential to show certain political leaders in poor light. The officer had also mentioned the name of leaders of the SAD which was clearly in violation of the provision of the model code of conduct, the EC had said in its order.

Besides ordering to divest him of his charge, the EC had also sought action against the IPS officer and asked him not to air any such contents in the future during the poll code period which will affect the fairness of conduct of the electoral process. The SAD last month had filed a complaint against Singh, alleging that he was working at the behest of the Congress to target Akalis. The party had sought that he should be shifted out of the state till the Lok Sabha polls are over.

Meanwhile, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) Tuesday accused the members of the delegation of hatching a conspiracy to "politicise" police action at Behbal Kalan and Kotkapura in Faridkot on anti-sacrilege protesters in 2015 that left two persons dead and several injured. In a statement here, SAD senior vice president Daljit Singh Cheema alleged that the Congress was again "lying" that the SIT probe into the police firing was stopped when the truth was that only one member of the SIT – Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh -- was shifted as he had violated the poll code by giving a political interview on the issue.