FARIDKOT ABDUCTION CASE

Sukhbir promises action against erring officers
Chandigarh, October 19

Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal today said the government would take stern action against police officers who had shown laxity in the Shruti abduction case even as he accused the Congress of giving a political hue to the abduction case.

The Deputy CM was talking to mediapersons here. He was accompanied by state police chief Sumedh Singh Saini. He claimed that he was closely monitoring the case and that the main accused, Nishan Singh, would be arrested “at any cost”.

He said the Home Department was examining the conduct of officers involved in the investigation and that action would be taken against anyone found to have committed lapses.

Saini admitted that there had been laxity in the investigation in the initial stage. He said two police officers (then Deputy Inspector-General Paramraj Singh Umranangal and Senior Superintendent of Police Gurinder Singh Dhillon) had been transferred for their lack of sensitivity in handling the case involving a minor.

“We have received directions from the government to be sympathetic to the girl and her parents”, he said, indicating there was no pressure on the police to help the accused as claimed by the Congress.

Sukhbir said his government was fighting a war against drugs and had put peddlers on the backfoot with record seizures in the last six months. He said the survey quoted by Rahul was conducted in 2006 when Capt Amarinder Singh was Chief Minister. Moreover, it was a sample survey of drug addicts and 70 per cent were young boys and girls.

The Deputy CM said for the first time, he had appointed an Inspector-General of Police (IGP) as head of the anti-narcotics cell. Similarly, a special operations cell had been opened in Amritsar which had the authority to check narcotic activities all over the state.

He said drugs, including heroin and smack, had been seized in large quantities and his government had urged the Congress-led Rajasthan Government to stop the open sale of poppy husk.

Reward for info on key accused

Chandigarh: Sukhbir Badal has announced a reward of Rs 5 lakh to anyone facilitating the arrest of Nishan Singh, the main accused in the Shruti abduction case. Nishan Singh,19, is at large. Search teams have been sent to Rajasthan and Nepal to track him down.

The Deputy Chief Minister has also directed the authorities to attach the properties of Nishan Singh's family.