No curfew permit, Punjab ex-DGP not allowed in Himachal Pradesh

MANALI: Former Punjab director general of police (DGP) Sumedh Singh Saini was denied entry into Himachal Pradesh at Swarghat checkpost on Chandigarh-Manali national highway in the early hours of Thursday as he did not have a valid curfew pass.
According to police, Saini reached the checkpost at 4am, accompanied by two other persons who claimed to be policemen, and he tried to prevail upon the cops for over an hour that he be allowed to enter the hill state. The three came from Punjab in an Innova (CH01-BW-0820) and told police personnel on duty that they wanted to go to Karsog in Mandi where the former DGP owns property.
Bilaspur superintendent of police Devakar Sharma said the ex-DGP was travelling with two people in civvies who introduced themselves as inspector and assistant sub-inspector. "When cops on duty didn’t let him enter HP, he called up the deputy superintendent of police (DSP) at Naina Devi. The DSP informed me about the situation and I told him not to allow him if he didn’t have a valid pass," Sharma said.
Then Saini contacted Bilaspur SP Devakar Sharma on his mobile phone, introduced himself as a former Punjab DGP, and requested that his vehicle be allowed into enter Himachal. "He told me that he has a property in Karsog and he wanted to go there. He kept insisting on going. I clearly said that police will allow you only if you have a valid pass. I even asked him to get an online pass and continue the journey. Later, the vehicle took a U-turn and they went back," Sharma added.
Swarghat is the main entrance to Himachal from Punjab. Police at Swarghat naka have instructions not to allow anybody into HP unless the person has a valid pass. The SP said, "Rules are equal for everyone. Cops are performing their duty honestly without any discrimination."