Who will bell the cat? ADGP goes on leave
Kanwar Inder singh/ royalpatiala.in
In the ongoing tussle between the Punjab Pradesh congress committee president Navjot Singh Sidhu and chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi to act on the drug and sacrilege cases against shiromani akali dal leaders to fulfil the promises the party had made ahead of 2017 assembly polls, Punjab police Bureau of Investigation seems to be under immense pressure to act before the code of conduct.
In a significant development, Punjab additional director general of police (ADGP) and head of Bureau of Investigation (BOI) SK Asthana on Saturday proceeded on two-day medical leave, citing with severe atrial fibrillation (an irregular, often rapid heart rate that commonly causes poor blood flow) of heart leading to abnormal heart rhythm and heart rate.“I have been advised by the doctor to be on complete medical rest for next 48-hours” he said, seeking exemption from his scheduled meeting with chief minister on Saturday morning at 9:30 am.
As per sources, Asthana, once a blue eyed boy of akali dal leadership is under pressure to take action as head BOI, on the politically sensitive drug cases.
Asthana, who was ADGP human rights, was posted as Bureau of Investigation (BOI) chief on December 2, replacing ADGP Varinder Kumar, who was posted as ADGP provisioning apparently to initiate the process to arrest high-profile Shiromani Akali Dal politicians. Before Varinder Kumar’s short stint, Arpit Shukla was moved out as BOI head.
“Both officials replaced before Asthana had expressed their inability to take action against a former Akali minister stating that there was nothing concrete against him on official files,” said a senior official familiar with developments.
Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi is pressurizing the state police chief to implicate the Akali Dal leadership in the 2015 sacrilege and police firing cases, had already alleged by Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal.
Badal had already accused CM Channi and Deputy CM Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa of interfering with the HC-ordered probe into the Kotkapura firing case.
December 12,2021
