Act against guilty intelligence top brass to ensure free and fair poll in Punjab: SAD to EC

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 28

The Shiromani Akali Dal on Friday demanded immediate transfer of all state intelligence officials, including the top bras who face charges of compromising the peace and security of the border state of Punjab and indulging in gross and brazen electoral malpractices to provide “illegal, illegitimate and immoral” help to the ruling Congress party.

“Sensitive intelligence inputs were shared with a private company seriously jeopardising the security considerations just to subvert the entire electoral process in Punjab,” Harcharan Singh Bains, principal advisor to Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal, said.

Addressing a press conference here, Bains said the party had filed a complaint with the Election Commission of India detailing how Intelligence Wing was used by the Congress party by placing it at the disposal of a private agency to illegally acquire inputs about prospective candidates of opposition parties and ways to threaten them to withdraw from elections.

He said the SAD had given a detailed account of working of intelligence wing officials with private agency namely ‘MovDekPOLITICO’ in securing inputs.

He said the party has urged the ECI that the continued presence of these officers on active duty would make a free and fair poll impossible.

In its complaint, the party has said that the Intelligence Wing of Punjab Police, which is mandated to provide sensitive inputs to help in maintenance of law & order and check threats to peace, indulged in dubious activities through brazen abuse of authority to further the cause of the Congress in the impending assembly elections with the motive of bringing it back to power.

The complaint said that these officers were posted after the new Congress regime under the new CM took over as they are staunch Congress loyalists, and the afore-mentioned IGPs also are very close friend of the CM, as they used to study law at Panjab University, Chandigarh, together.

These two officers are misusing the officials of the Intelligence Wing as well as the Secret Service Fund which is meant for judicious use in operational duties related to maintenance of law & order, control of crime and to check terrorist/gangster and other activities in the state.

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