44 proclaimed offenders in police dragnet till May 6

Phillaur, May 7

A special campaign against proclaimed offenders (PO) was launched for the smooth and peaceful conduct of the Jalandhar bypoll.

After the implementation of the Code of Conduct on March 29, the Jalandhar Rural police have been successful in arresting 44 POs till May 6 and got two POs deleted. A proposal was prepared to delete POs in petty crimes from the PO list under the Punjab Police Rules 23.23 and it was sent to the Deputy Commissioner, Jalandhar. The Deputy Commissioner, Jalandhar approved the same.

While briefing the media, Mukhwinder Singh Bhullar, Senior Superintendent of Police, Jalandhar (Rural), said a special campaign was launched to arrest the POs by forming special teams at the district and police station levels. The teams were successful in arresting 44 POs till date. Among those arrested, 20 POs were wanted under the IPC (three related to heinous crime), 19 under the NDPS Act and five under the Excise Act. Two POs under the IPC had been deleted.

Out of the total arrested POs, one PO was absconding for the past 13 years in a murder case, one was absconding for the past 14 years and other one was absconding for the past five years in hurt cases; one PO was absconding for the past nine years in a fraud case; and one PO was absconding for the past five years in a case under the NDPS Act.