4 BSF officers to head jails

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 31

After deputing some battalions of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) for security, the Punjab Jails Department today posted four officers of the Border Security Force (BSF) as superintendents of central jails in four districts.

This is the first time officers from the BSF or any central security force have been posted as the head of jails in Punjab, said ADGP Jails PK Sinha.

Jails Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa said officers from the BSF had been taken on deputation to upgrade the management and security. Also, Punjab Police officials were reluctant to come on deputation with the jails department.

As many as 33 officers, including 10 jail superintendents, were given new postings in the department. Others transferred included additional jail superintendents, deputy superintendents and parole officers.

The BSF officers posted as jail superintendents are Surinder Singh (Central Jail, Ferozepore); Parvinder Singh (Amritsar); Rajinder Singh Hundal (Gurdaspur) and Joginder Pal (Faridkot). Officers from the jail cadre given the new postings are Iqbal Singh Dhaliwal (Central Jail, Bathinda), Manjit Singh Tiwana (Hoshiarpur), Arvinderpal Singh Bhatti (Maximum Security Jail, Nabha); Rahul Raj (Open Jail, Nabha), Lalit Kohli (New District Jail; Nabha) and Baldev Singh Kang (Special Jail, Bathinda).

2 Pak intruders shot

• BSF personnel shot two Pakistani intruders near a border outpost at Thehkalan village in Ferozepur sector on Friday night
• The bodies were handed over to the police and later shifted to the Civil Hospital, Patti. SMO Dr Sudarshan Chaudhry said the bodies would be kept for 72 hours for identification
• The BSF said suspicious movement was observed on the border around 8.48 pm. They challenged the intruders, who refused to pay heed, prompting the troops to open fire OC