Solving target killings: DGP rewards 32 cops

Kulwinder Sandhu

Tribune News Service

Moga, December 22

Director General of Punjab Police Suresh Arora has rewarded a team of the Moga police, who played a vital role in solving the four cases of targeted killings of Hindu leaders, with out-of-turn promotions.

The names of team leaders - SSP Raj Jit Singh Hundal, SP (D) Vazir Singh, DSP (D) Sarbjit Singh and Inspector Kikkar Singh, incharge of the special cell created to nab the gangsters, did not figure on the list.

Last week, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had ordered the constitution of a special investigation team (SIT) after Hundal, fearing a frame-up, sought the handing over of a drug case probe to an officer other than Special Task Force chief Harpreet Singh Sandhu.

A senior official of the Punjab Police revealed that the DGP was not empowered to give out-of-turn promotions to police officers above the rank of inspector. Therefore, the state Cabinet will look into their cases of promotion.

Two Assistant Sub-Inspectors - Iqbal Hussain and Pippal Singh - have been promoted to the rank of Sub-Inspector; four Head Constables Gulab Singh, Baljit Singh, Jaswinder Singh and Sarbjit Singh - have been promoted as Assistant Sub-Inspectors and seven constables - Harjit Singh, Harjinder Singh, Balwinder Singh, Gurbhej Singh, Nirmal Singh, Gurdeep Singh and Jagmohan Singh - have been promoted as head constables.

As many as 19 other constables have also been rewarded with a certificate of honour and Rs 1,000 cash prize.

An RSS leader and BJP RTI wing member, Ravinder Gosain, was gunned down outside his house in Ludhiana on October 17, 2017, and RSS state vice-president Brig Jagdish Gagneja (retd) was shot dead in Jalandhar on August 6, 2016.

Out-of-turn promotions 

DGP Suresh Arora has rewarded a team of the Moga police for playing a vital role in solving four cases of targeted killings of Hindu leaders with out-of-turn promotions.

The name of team leader SSP Raj Jit Singh Hundal, whose alleged links with a drug-tainted inspector are being probed by an SIT, is not on the list.