First dissent: AAP MLA objects to Mann’s pick for intel chief, Amritsar police head
While Arun Pal Singh, a 1997-batch IPS officer, was posted as Commissioner of Police, Amritsar, during a reshuffle on Saturday, the Punjab government had appointed 1988-batch IPS officer special DGP Prabodh Kumar as the state’s new intelligence chief on March 25.
The ruling Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab Saturday felt some rumblings within the state unit with party’s Amritsar North MLA Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh raising objections to Chief Minister Bhagwant mann raising objections to appointments of two senior IPS officers — Prabodh Kumar as Special DGP (Intelligence) and Arun Pal Singh as Amritsar Police Commissioner.
While Arun Pal Singh, a 1997-batch IPS officer, was posted as Commissioner of Police, Amritsar, during a reshuffle on Saturday, the Punjab government had appointed 1988-batch IPS officer special DGP Prabodh Kumar as the state’s new intelligence chief on March 25.
A former IPS officer, Kunwar Vijay Pratap had resigned from Punjab Police, where he held an IG-rank position, in April last year soon after the Punjab and Haryana High Court quashed the probe by a Special Investigation Team led by him. The SIT was probing into two cases of police firing at people who had been protesting against the desecration of the Guru Granth Sahib in Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan of Faridkot district in 2015. He had later joined AAP.
In a Facebook post late Saturday night, Kunwar Vijay Partap wrote: “On wide demand of common people, I have requested, at appropriate party forum, to reconsider the posting of two police officers who were part of the then SIT as Number one and Number two, who favoured big political families. These two officers are responsible for denial of justice in Bargari-Behbal-Kotkapura cases. I was at number three in the SIT. Number one has been posted as Intelligence chief, the most powerful position in the police department. Number two has been rewarded as Police Commissioner of the holy city of Amritsar”.
“Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh (Number three) already resigned on this very day (last year)…. So, I have requested at appropriate party forum to reconsider both these recent postings. I have also requested to Hon’ble Chief Minister, through a letter, citing specific points to be done by our AAP government, to impart justice in Bargari cases,” he further wrote.
While AAP had installed posters of Kunwar Vijay Pratap across the state after he joined the party, he was not given any important responsibility in the party’s government.
Recalling that he resigned on April 9, last year from the IPS, “still having 9 years of service”, he said it was not an ordinary resignation. “It was for a cause and cause was for the existence of Punjab and people of Punjab. I expressed my feelings on 13 April 2021, Baishakhi Day, in response to a press note released on behalf of the then Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, in which it was said that “CM has rejected the resignation of Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh”. I had clearly stated that I will continue to work for the society in the best possible manner, but not as an IPS officer. Finally, I got relieving letter on 22 April from the Punjab government,” the AAP MLA wrote.
Kunwar Vijay Pratap said he had clearly stated that nobody should politicise or glamorise the sacrilege issue in any manner. “Those who did politics on this issue, were punished by the ‘most superior court’, that is of Guru Gobind Singh Ji…. Guru Maharaj has punished two big political families of Punjab, who were over jealous on my resignation. These two families will never come on the political arena of the State of Punjab. People in general have very high hopes from our AAP Government to impart “complete justice” in Bargari-Behbal-Kotkapura matter,” he added.