Amritsar Rural SSP suspended for failing to take action against gangsters !
Punjab: Amritsar Rural SSP suspended for failing to take action against gangsters
Amid rising incidents of gangsterism and extortion in Punjab, the Mann government has suspended Amritsar (Rural) SSP Maninder Singh. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann issued a clear warning that laxity against gangsters will not be tolerated. This action comes at a time when law and order remains a major issue in the Tarn Taran by-election.
Opposition parties are attacking the Mann government over incidents of extortion by criminals and gangsters. Law and order was a major election issue in the Tarn Taran Assembly by-election on November 11. While campaigning for the by-election, AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal pledged to rid the state of gangsters. He was also warned to leave the state within a week. Kejriwal said, “We are trapped in the clutches of gangsters and extortionists in the state.”
Earlier he was posted as Assistant Commissioner of Police.
Maninder Singh, a 2019-batch IPS officer, was appointed SSP of Amritsar Rural in February this year. Previously, he served as Assistant Commissioner of Police in the Amritsar Commissionerate. He also served as Superintendent of Police in Tarn Taran district and before that, as Assistant Commissioner of Police (ADC) to the Governor of Punjab. Two days ago, Amritsar Rural Police arrested two people for their involvement in a shootout related to an extortion attempt in Jandiala Guru.
On November 6, three unidentified bike-borne men opened fire at a provision store near Jandiala Guru, threatening the owner with extortion money. The accused were associated with the Jaggu Bhagwanpuria gang and were acting on instructions from their foreign handler, Keshav Shivala. Earlier, on November 8, the Election Commission suspended Tarn Taran Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Ravjot Kaur Grewal.
Accused of filing a false FIR
The action against the SSP came after Sukhbir Singh Badal, president of the opposition Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), filed a complaint with the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Punjab. In the complaint, he alleged that Grewal had used the police to file false FIRs against his party leaders and workers to prevent them from campaigning in the by-election. The SAD accused the AAP government of “misusing” the police in the election. The Chief Electoral Officer of Punjab subsequently wrote to the Director General of Police, requesting a review of the alleged false FIR filed in Tarn Taran by an Additional Director General-level officer.
