Crime in Punjab crossing all limits, says Dr Navjot Kaur Sidhu; wants former IGP Kunwar Vijay Partap as home minister

PTI

GS Paul

Amritsar, May 18

In an unexpected development, former lawmaker Dr Navjot Kaur Sidhu has come out in favour of former inspector general (IG) of Punjab Police, Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh, who is now an AAP MLA representing Amritsar’s North constituency.

Sparing thought for the depleting law and order situation in the state, Dr Sidhu expressed her surprise for ignoring Kunwar in the Bhagwant Singh Mann-led Cabinet.

Tagging the CM office and Arvind Kejriwal on her Twitter handler, she posted her recommendation of handing over home portfolio to Kunwar. She wrote: “Crime in Punjab is crossing all limits. I refuse to understand why such a capable and senior IPS officer; KUNWAR VIJAY PRATAP SINGH is not being posted as the HOME MINISTER, PUNJAB. I remember when he was posted in Amritsar.”

In another tweet she wrote: “No one dared to commit any crime because they were caught within hours and punished. Also no VIP dared to call him to do wrong. Gangsters disappeared and snatchers and thieves were nowhere. REQUEST FROM PUNJABIS.”

Kunwar, an IPS officer of 1998 batch, started his career as assistant superintendent of police (ASP) from Amritsar in 1999, followed by superintendent of police (SP city), senior superintendent of police (SSP) and deputy inspector general of police (DIG), Border Range, in Amritsar. He was known as a formidable cop who tightened the noose around gangsters during his service tenure.  

During his campaigning too, since he was devoid of any political background, he reminded voters of his stint as the SSP of Amritsar, during which he probed a number of high-profile cases, including the 2002 Amritsar kidney scam.

Having risen to fame as the chief investigator of the post-sacrilege Kotkapura police firing incident in 2015 during SAD-BJP regime, Kunwar had taken the political plunge by quitting the service on April 9, 2021, after the Punjab and Haryana high court quashed the probe report filed by the Special Investigation Team (SIT).