Chandigarh: The Bhagwant Mann-led government in Punjab and state governor Banwarilal Purohit are butting heads once again. This time over the alleged involvement of a close relative of an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA in an illegal sand mining case in Tarn Taran village.
Governor Purohit Thursday shot off a letter to the chief minister demanding a report on the involvement of Nishan Singh, brother-in-law of Khadoor Sahib MLA Manjinder Singh Lalpura, in the case.
The matter was widely reported last week when the Punjab government transferred Tarn Taran senior superintendent of police (SSP) and suspended another six policemen after Lalpura alleged Singh had been arrested in a “false” case because he had highlighted the rampant corruption prevalent among policemen in the district. In a post on Facebook, the MLA had challenged the SSP to a one-on-one duel, adding that he had given up his security as well.
Tarn Taran SSP Gurmeet Chauhan had, in his version, said that the MLA’s relative was arrested on the spot in Bhail village where the illegal mining was being carried out, and his identity was not known till the arrest had already been made and the accused had been brought to the police station.
Referring to these reports, the Governor said in his letter that he has been “reading contradictory reports in the media regarding the allegations of an MLA about corruption in the police, involvement of MLA’s close relative in illegal mining during night time and the suspension of police officials and subsequent transfer of Senior Superintendent of Police Tarn Taran.”
The governor added, “Illegal mining is an important issue in Punjab and a lot of corruption is attributed to this. In the background of this, some media reports pointed out that a police party busted an illegal mining activity going on during night time in Tarn Taran and a close relative of the MLA is a part of it. Media reports also suggest that the police party, who went to raid the illegal mining activity, was suspended and SSP was transferred.”
“In view of the media reports I would like to have a detailed report on the issue of allegations by MLA, illegal mining activity and the subsequent action on the police officials,” wrote the governor.
On Friday, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader and former revenue minister Bikram Singh Majithia posted a picture on X, which, he claimed, was of the arrested Nishan Singh in a hospital. Majithia alleged that since Singh is a close relative of the MLA, he had not spent a single day in the jail ever since his arrest and has been admitted in a hospital where he is being given VIP treatment.
Meanwhile, SSP Chauhan, known as the ‘gangbuster’ cop in Punjab, has not been given any posting since his transfer from Tarn Taran last week.
The privileges committee of the Vidhan Sabha Tuesday summoned Chauhan following a complaint by AAP’s Tarn Taran MLA Kashmir Singh Sohal. However, sources said that Chauhan did not appear before the privileges committee and sought more time to explain his position. Sources add that the Tarn Taran MLA has complained to the privileges committee that the SSP had not given him due honour.
(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)
Also Read: Punjab CM Mann under Opposition fire over silence on India-Canada row — ‘not a word from him’