Sacrilege probe: SAD seeks action against IPS officer for 'violating' poll panel order

The Akali Dal Tuesday moved the Election Commission, seeking action against an IPS officer for "continuing" as a member of the of the SIT, probing the 2015 sacrilege and firing incidents in Punjab, against its orders during the Lok Sabha polls.

SAD's Rajya Sabha MP Balwinder Singh Bhundar, who led a delegation before the poll panel in Delhi, claimed that Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh continued to work as a member of the special investigation team despite being ordered to be shifted to some other department till the imposition of the election code.

Besides being a member of the SIT, the IPS was also holding the charge of the IG (Crime) and the Organised Crime and Control Unit (OCCU).

Following directions of the poll panel, the state government had posted him as the IG, Counter Intelligence (Amritsar).

The delegation, including Rajya Sabha MP Naresh Gujral and SAD leaders Daljeet Cheema and Darbara Singh Guru, alleged that he continued to be a member of the SIT despite the government submitting a compliance report in this regard.

The delegation also submitted a copy of the charge sheet regarding the 2015 Kotkapura police firing incident, which was signed by him on May 23 as a member of SIT.

The delegation said the poll panel's order to remove the officer from the SIT had been communicated to the Punjab chief secretary for the compliance.

As per the ECI order, he could not function as a member of the SIT team till the withdrawal of the model code of conduct, said Bhundar in a release.

The delegation said Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had sought the review of the ECI order, claiming that it tantamount to direct interference in the investigation.

The SAD leaders accused Amarinder Singh of misleading the poll panel by stating in election rallies that the officer would be brought back to the SIT after the election code was lifted.

A five-member special investigation team is probing incidents of the desecration of religious texts and the police firing in Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan that resulted in death of two protesters in 2015.