SAD asks CEO to transfer two SSPs who are close relatives of Cong leaders

Chandigarh,March 15: The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today demanded the transfer of two Senior Superintendents of Police (SSPs) who are close relatives of Congress leaders, saying this was necessary to ensure free and fair elections in the State.

In a complaint to Chief Electoral Officer, the SAD President’s Political Secretary Charanjit Singh Brar said both officers – Jalandhar Rural SSP Navjot Singh Mahal and Muktsar SSP Manjot Singh Dhesi – were vitiating the atmosphere by working as per the dictates of the Congress party and should be transferred immediately.

The complaint said while Mahal was a relative of Cabinet minister Tript Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa, Dhesi was a relative of the chief minister’s OSD Gurpreet Singh Dhesi. “It seems both officers have been posted deliberately at these stations with the aim of working against SAD candidates”. It said the Muktsar SSP had shown his partisan attitude earlier also by facilitating booth capturing by Congress workers during the Zila Parishad elections besides registering a false case against SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal. The complaint said both officers should be immediately removed from their stations to ensure they did not misuse their office to facilitate the Congress party and its candidates.

Meanwhile the complaint also apprised the Chief Electoral Officer about the brazen poll violations being done by the Congress workers by offering fake allurements to the people to grab their votes in the state. S. Brar informed that the Congress workers are seeking votes by promising them additional aata –daal and old age pension cards. He urged the CEO to hold officers personally responsible to thwart such irregularities and ensuring cards entitling voters to social welfare benefits were not distributed during the period of model code of conduct in the State.