Another twist in sacrilege incident after High Court orders
Kanwar Inder Singh/ royalpatiala.in
Punjab police inspector general of police Kunwar Vijay Pratap, who is currently heading the Special Investigation Teams (SITs) probing the Kotakpura and Behbal Kalan firing cases, has resigned and seeks premature retirement from service.
Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder has refused to accept the resignation letter of IPS Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh, seeking premature retirement from service.
Declining the voluntary retirement plea of Kunwar Vijay Pratap, who is currently heading the Special Investigation Teams (SITs) probing the Kotakpura and Behbal Kalan firing cases, the Chief Minister said he was a highly competent and efficient officer whose services were needed in the border state, especially at a time when Punjab was faced with various internal and external security threats.
The state needs the expertise and experience of the officer, who has contributed exceptional service to the Punjab Police in various important positions, said the Chief Minister, describing Kunwar Vijay Pratap as a skilled, capable and courageous officer, with an exemplary track record.
Referring to media reports on the Punjab & Haryana High Court’s orders in the Kotakpura case probe, the Chief Minister pointed out that he had already made it clear that any decision of the court that seeks to remove Kunwar Vijay Pratap as the SIT chief or to quash the investigations in the case would be challenged by his government in the Supreme Court.
The officer and his team have done an excellent job of expeditiously investigating the Kotakpura case, which the Akalis have tried hard to stall for the past four years, Captain Amarinder said, adding that the probe will be taken to its logical conclusion under the guidance and supervision of the able officer himself.
CM had already expressed his full confidence in SIT chief Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh, and the probe conducted so far under his supervision, the Chief Minister said he was an extremely competent and experienced officer who had been working relentlessly on the case since the Special Investigation Team was constituted. The inquiry is being conducted in a completely fair and unprejudiced manner by the SIT under the leadership of Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh, he said, adding that neither changing the officer nor setting up a fresh SIT at this stage was unacceptable to his government. He pointed out that the investigations were in an advanced stage, with four challans already filed against persons in the 2015 case that followed the Bargari sacrilege incident, with final reports submitted to the sessions court for trial.
April 13,2021
