By transferring a strict and honest IPS officer, Sh. Ketan Baliram Patil ASP Bathinda, the Dy. C.M. has demonstrated and admitted to politicization of the Punjab Police: Congress.

The sudden transfer of an upright, honest and a strict officer Sh. Ketan Patil IPS, ASP Bathinda, under political pressure has vindicated our allegations of a highly politicized mechanism of the Punjab Police. It is now abundantly clear that Akali MLA’s, SGPC members and Jathedar’s rule the roost and control the police in the state.

The punishment in form of the transfer of Sh. Patil IPS, is due to his audacity to arrest an Akali goon Prabhjot Singh S/o SGPC member Sukhdev Singh Bahia. As we are aware, the said Akali goon Prabhjot Singh in a drunken state alongwith a girl had broken a police ‘Naka’ and thrashed a constable Gurlal Singh on January 9^th. The ASP acting in accordance with the law had booked the Akali goons u/s 332, 353, 186 for obstructing govt. employee from performing duty and had arrested them. The power drunken Jathedar’s in retaliation built pressure on the CM and Dy. CM to punish the honest officer with a transfer.

This politically motivated transfer of the ASP would demoralize and bring the morale of the police force down. In other words it would mean that an honest, uprights and strict officer has no honourable place in the force and has to succumb to the illegitimate orders of the political masters. The DGP Punjab must also lower his head in shame for his utter failure to protect good officers like Sh. Patil. It is now clear that only the spineless, sycophant and weak officers who will obilige their political bosses can be posted in the field.

This is not the first incident of assault and thrashing of police officers, as an Akali ‘Goonda’ had killed an ASI in Amritsar, the uniform of a Home Guard Jawan was torn off in Gurdaspur and to top it all an AIG Sh. Mand was so mercilessly beaten by Akali ‘Goondas’ that he ended up with a broken leg. Such is the fear of Akali ‘Goondas’ that the said AIG did not have the courage to name Sunny Johar YAD Vice President, as man accused in his statement.

Therefore, now that the glaring incident of a politicized transfer of an IPS officer has come to fore, I urge the Dy. C.M. to take moral responsibility of demoralizing the Punjab Police that he heads as Home Minister and quit his job, as be cannot protect men in uniform from the onslaught from Akali ‘Goondas’ and Jathedar’s. Congress also demands the immediate cancellation of the transfer of ASP Sh. Patil.