Days before zila parishad polls, Patiala SSP proceeds on leave

Days before the zila parishad and panchayat samiti polls on December 14, and just hours ahead of the Punjab and Haryana High Court hearing in the viral audio-clip controversy, Patiala SSP Varun Sharma has proceeded on leave.

Sources in the police department confirmed that SSP Sharma went on a week’s leave on Tuesday evening.

They added that, for now, Sangrur SSP Sartaj Chahal will oversee Patiala’s policing as well.

However, it will be up to the state election commission to issue directions on whether another officer should be officially deputed to manage Patiala to look after the working of the district police.

“Yes, SSP Varun Sharma is on leave and seniors at the Chandigarh headquarters are aware of the matter,” said a senior IPS officer.

The move comes ahead of the High Court hearing which had on Monday asked the state election commission to expedite the inquiry into the audio clip released by Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal last week, allegedly of SSP Sharma purportedly directing his subordinates to obstruct opposition candidates from filing their nomination papers for the zila parishad and block samiti elections.

The petition has sought immediate judicial intervention to ensure free and fair elections, alleging systematic police-led obstruction of opposition candidates during the nomination process.

Filed as a public interest litigation by former MLA Dr Daljit Singh Cheema, it sought suspension of SSP Sharma and registration of a CBI-monitored FIR within seven days, asserting that a self-probe by the state police leadership would be “meaningless” when the allegations concern its own functioning.

The petition referred to a purported viral conference-call audio, annexed before the court, revealing directives to halt opponents at homes or routes, act on local MLA’s orders, shield ruling AAP supporters with “positive reports”, and ensure returning officers to reject nominations, engineering uncontested wins and violating the model code of conduct.