Never supported criminal activities, says DGP Arora

Chandigarh, July 19

Punjab Director General of Police Suresh Arora on Thursday claimed “vested interests” had started a baseless campaign against him and other top brass of the force, as he defended himself against a colleague’s allegations of his suspected role in a drug racket as well as accusations of harassment. 

Speaking to the press on Thursday, Arora claimed he had “never supported any criminal activities”. 

“My integrity and hard work of over 35 years is being brought under a cloud by certain vested interests perhaps for personal gains as well as other ulterior motives. I want to tell those people that I will do whatever is required to strongly defend my name and reputation and also that of my force, and I would explore all legal options in this regard,” he said.

Although he refused to comment on specific allegations made before the high court saying they were “sub-judice”, Arora said he was forced to respond because the allegations were not “only an attack on his unblemished reputation, but were also affecting the morale of the police force”. 

“The half-baked accusations being published, highlighted and circulated by vested interests for furtherance of their objectives also had direct and serious implications for national security,” he said. “While nobody is above the law, it is imperative to protect officers against vague and unsubstantiated allegations, as well as against unconfirmed and unverified insinuations,” he said, adding that he was considering his legal options.  

Asked specifically about former Moga SSP Raj Jit Singh, Arora said he had never worked with the officer and was not a DGP in 2013, the year of the suspected incident. 

Arora’s name surfaced in connection to a drug case that a special investigation team (SIT) under DGP (human resource development) Siddhartha Chattopadhyaya was investigating. Chattopadhyay told a court in April his investigations “into the nexus between Punjab’s drug traffickers and its law enforcement”, in specific a case involving former Moga SSP Raj Jit Singh and Inspector Inderjit Singh, had led him to two top cops— his colleagues Suresh Arora and Dinkar Gupta.  

He not only accused Arora of harassing him, but also claimed “a benami house of a DGP was being investigated”. He told the Punjab and Haryana High Court in his April application that he was being implicated in the suicide case of Chief Khalsa Diwan president Charanjit Singh Chadha’s son Inderpreet Chadha.