POLITICIAN-GANGSTER NEXUS Will not succumb to pressure from Akalis, says Amarinder
Asserting that he will not succumb to any pressure from Akalis, Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Monday said his government would get to the bottom of the politician-gangster nexus. Reacting to protests by Shiromani Akal Dal (SAD), the CM said he had ordered the probe into the nexus by the director general of police (DGP) after receiving photographs “clearly showing links of hardened criminals and gangsters with top Akali leadership”.
Asserting that he will not succumb to any pressure from Akalis, Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Monday said his government would get to the bottom of the politician-gangster nexus.
Reacting to protests by Shiromani Akal Dal (SAD), the CM said he had ordered the probe into the nexus by the director general of police (DGP) after receiving photographs “clearly showing links of hardened criminals and gangsters with top Akali leadership”.
The evidence was serious and required a full-fledged police investigation, he said in a statement, adding that he had asked the DGP to complete the probe at the earliest.
The photographs received by the CM showed Harjinder Singh, alias Bittu, a sarpanch posing with SAD leaders, including former CM Prakash Singh Badal, SAD president Sukhbir Badal, Union cabinet minister Harsimrat Badal and former minister Bikram Singh Majithia, according to a spokesperson for the chief minister’s office.
As per inputs available with the police, Bittu is also allegedly close to Jeet Mohinder Singh, the former SAD MLA from Talwandi Sabo, he added.
“Inputs available with the organised crime control unit, Punjab, also reveal that Bittu is reported to have been providing shelter to members of the notorious Gurpreet Sekhon gang,” said DGP Dinkar Gupta, entrusted by the CM to conduct an inquiry.
The CM said the evidence received by him in the form of the photographs showed a clear nexus between gangsters and the Badals, other Akalis leaders, who were obviously trying to divert attention from their involvement by targeting jails minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa.
The SAD, in fact, had no proof of any involvement of Randhawa or any other Congress minister and leaders with gangsters and criminals, he said.
According to the DGP, Bittu has been named in several criminal cases relating to drugs, murder, dacoity and cases under the Arms Act. There are cases registered against him in Talwadi Sabo and Moonak in Punjab, Solan (Himachal Pradesh), Bhiwani (Haryana) and Hanumangarh (Rajasthan).
Gupta said Punjab Police had so far arrested 2,127 gangsters, including eight Category A, and neutralised 10 (5 of them Category A). As many as 1,040 weapons and 468 vehicles had been seized from these gangsters, he said.