With the open war between top police officers of the Punjab Police reaching the Punjaband Haryana High Court, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Saturday warned that he would not tolerate any indiscipline in the force.
Taking serious note of media reports highlighting dissension among the top brass of the Punjab Police, Amarinder held a meeting with senior officers on Saturday to take stock of the situation.
"The Chief Minister discussed the issue with Home Secretary N.S. Kalsi, DGP Suresh Arora and CPS to CM Suresh Kumar, and directed them to examine the matter and suggest suitable action, as necessary to resolve the same," a spokesman of the chief minister said here.
Siddharth Chattopadhya, a Director General of Police (DGP) level officer, had submitted before the high court on Friday that he was being harassed and framed in an abetment to suicide case at the behest of Punjab Police chief Arora and DG, Intelligence Dinkar Gupta.
He alleged that Arora and Gupta's name had figured in shielding some officers who were being investigated by him (Chattopadhaya) in a drugs racket case.
The Chief Minister made it clear on Saturday that any grievance by any member of the police force, including those against colleagues, should be routed through the well-established administrative procedures and channels laid down for the purpose.
"There were well laid down hierarchies that needed to be stringently adhered to, if the police force was to function efficaciously," he added.
Amarinder Singh said that "any act of indiscipline was a matter of grave concern, to be treated with seriousness".
"I will not hesitate to take stern action, if needed, to check indiscipline. The 80,000 strong Punjab Police force naturally looked up to its senior officers for leadership and direction. Internal discord or friction could seriously undermine its professional and operational capabilities," he said.
The Chief Minister directed the Home Secretary and the DGP to ensure that all investigations in the drugs cases are carried out impartially, without fear or favour.
--IANS
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