ADGP to probe complaint against SAD top leaders

JALANDHAR: The office of Punjab chief electoral officer has written to additional director general of police (ADGP) R N Dhoke, who is the nodal officer for Lok Sabha elections, to act on a complaint by three RTI activists who alleged that police were not arresting political leaders even when they were facing cognizable offences.

The CEO's office has sought "appropriate action" on the complaint.

RTI activists Nawanshahr-based Parvinder Singh Kitna, Ludhiana-based Kuldeep Singh Khaira and Sangrur-based Amarjeet Singh Mann had sent a complaint to the CEO, pointing out that even as several senior Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leaders were booked under cognizable offences for blocking national and state highways in December 2017, they were yet to be arrested and these leaders had also not secured bail.

On March 27, Khaira sent a complaint to the Election Commission and CEO along with the FIRs registered against the SAD leaders and replies obtained from different police districts in which it was revealed that none of these leaders had secured bails and had claimed that investigations in these cases were still underway.

SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal, MLAs Bikram Singh Majithia and Pawan Tinu are among those booked by the police.

SAD had leaders blocked nationalk highways for several hours across the state, especially bridges and cut road connectivity between Malwa, Doaba and Majha regions of the state.

Akali leaders were, at the time, protesting against what they described as the "high handedness of Congress government in Punjab" during civic body polls.