New Punjab DGP Suresh Arora assures fair probe into desecrations

Punjab police chief Sumedh Singh Saini (in the picture) has been replaced by Suresh Arora.

Amarinder hoped that the new DGP Suresh Arora, who has a reputation of being an upright officer, comes up to the expectations of people and stops shielding the guilty cops to restore public confidence in police functioning. He was posted in Amritsar as Superintendent of Police (SP) and Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) when Operation Black Thunder I and II were conducted.

Saini was believed to be close to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal.

The SGPC members had also criticised the role of then DGP Sumedh Singh Saini, Bathinda range DIG Ranbir Singh Khatra and Ludhiana police commissioner P S Umranangal for opening fire at peaceful protesters in Behbal Kalan.

Protests by Sikh organisations, including hardliners, were also declining and getting limited to village roads. Outrage among Sikh masses following atrocities of Punjab police has caused major blunders in the state.

However, in yet another embarrassing development for the Badal government, Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA) chairman and SAD’s Amritsar district chief (urban) Upkar Singh Sandhu resigned from both posts yesterday. Meanwhile, family and lawyers of the two brothers arrested for desecration of Sikh holy books alleged they were being framed up by the police and sought CBI probe.

The Congress and AAP had demanded imposition of President’s rule in Punjab contending that the state government had failed to tackle the law and order situation, which was deteriorating fast and spiralling out of control, in the wake of recent incident of desecration of the holy book of the Sikhs. Later, protests by Sikh activists started after a series of sacrilege incidents in several parts of the state. There were no foreign elements involved and the government was only trying to mislead the people of Punjab, they charged. Protests against the sacrilege have continued in the state, but have now turned more against the arrest of the two brothers.

The state police have also been attacked for not being able to solve the case when a Saroop of Guru Granth Sahib was first stolen in June.