New Patiala DIG Harcharan Singh Bhullar vows to crack down on drug mafia
Aman Sood
Patiala, December 31
Harcharan Singh Bhullar, a 2007-batch IPS officer, was today appointed as Deputy Inspector General (DIG), Patiala range, following the retirement of Additional DGP, Patiala, Mukhwinder Singh Chhina, an IPS officer of 1997 batch.
The government is yet to name a new officer following Chhina’s retirement as the head of the SIT which was formed to probe the drugs case against SAD leader Bikram Majithia.
Talking to The Tribune, Bhullar, who will join his office on Monday, said his priority would be to ensure “more public participation against drugs and illegal activities” and seek cooperation of the people of Patiala, Sangrur, Malerkotla and Barnala for the prevention of drugs and crime.
“Periodical meetings of the entire Patiala range would be held for a fortnightly review with special emphasis to hold drug de-addiction camps to save the youth, who have fallen prey to drugs, while legal action would be taken against the drug smugglers and their aides”, he stated.
Bhullar said as per the directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, intensive monitoring would be conducted by the Patiala Police to curb the spread of crime and drugs. “The police will act as friends of people as they are also part of society. The police will always be at their service to make the district crime and anti-social activities free. Apart from this, the doors of his office are open to the general public and they can also come to him to resolve their problems,” he added.
Before this posting, Harcharan Singh Bhullar has earlier served as DIG, PAP; Joint Director, Vigilance Bureau; and SSP, Jagraon (Ludhiana rural), Barnala, Sangrur, Fatehgarh Sahib, Khanna, Hoshiarpur, Gurdaspur and SAS Nagar. A seasoned cop, Bhullar comes with a lot of field experience.
Meanwhile, the government is yet to name new SIT head. In May 2023, the Punjab Government reconstituted the special investigation team (SIT) probing a drugs case against Majithia. ADGP Chhina was named head of the SIT in place of DIG Rahul S. The first SIT was led by AIG Balraj Singh, who was replaced by Rahul S after AAP came to power.
However with Chhina’s retirement, the Punjab government will now name a senior IPS officer as the new head of the SIT which already has a DIG and a DSP-level officer as its members. This is the third time the SIT will be recast to ensure that a challan is filed.
Earlier, Chhina-led SIT summoned Majithia and questioned him on Saturday. The FIR was registered at the state crime police station in Mohali on the basis of a 2018 report of the anti-drug special task force. Majithia has demanded the cancellation of the case saying the government was playing politics by neither submitting a challan nor cancelling the case.
Review every fortnight
Meetings of the entire Patiala range will be held for a fortnightly review. Legal action will be taken against drug smugglers and their aides. — HS Bhullar, DIG, Patiala range
