Spouse removed as SP after I joined AAP: Arjuna awardee

Deepkamal Kaur

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, August 26

Arjuna awardee Rajbir Kaur, who led the Indian hockey team in four Asian Games and who recently joined the Aam Aadmi Party, is distraught. She alleges that because of her new political affiliation, her husband and gold medal-winning hockey Olympian Gurmail Singh has been “forcibly relieved” from his Punjab Police service. Besides, he has been relieved just on a day’s notice by the Department of Home Affairs.

Gurmail Singh, who was in the 1980 hockey team that brought home a gold medal from Olympics, a silver medal in the 1982 Asian Games and a bronze medal in the 1982 Champions Trophy, was posted as Commandant of the 80th Battalion of the Punjab Armed Police, Jalandhar.

She laments, “While the country has been regretting having missed gold again in the Olympics, here is a case where they are treating a medal winner so shoddily. The appointment in the police came on SI rank and there was no job benefit that came despite playing for the Punjab Police from 1978 to 1993 and giving coaching for six years.”

“Had I joined SAD, this would have never happened,” says Rajbir at her Khusropur village house near Jalandhar Cantonment.

Rajbir says, “My husband is was awarded Dhyan Chand Trophy in 2014 by President Pranab Mukherjee. He was given a two-year extension after 58 years till December 31, 2017, and he still had 17 months of service. But they removed him citing a case against him in the Punjab and Haryana High Court regarding an inquiry that he was assigned in a murder case in December 2010.”

Gurmail says, “I was then serving as SP (D) at Moga. I was asked to hold an inquiry into a murder case. I tried my best but could not find any witness or evidence and proposed that the case be withdrawn. Then IG, ADGP and DGP endorsed my inquiry. But the case went to the High Court, which ordered a CBI probe. On CBI’s recommendations, a case was made against me on the charges of criminal conspiracy, forgery and disappearance of facts.”

He said, “The department has cited this case to forcibly relieve me. But, I can name at least half a dozen police officials, who have cases of heinous crime against them including murder, but are still working on extension. I have been made a scapegoat. My seniors could have even got a re-inquiry done in the case if they were not satisfied with my report.”

ADGP, PAP, Sanjeev Kalra said, “The decision against the SP has been taken at the government level. He had to be relieved because of charges against him.”