Most transferred Patiala policemen back to choicest postings

Aman Sood

Tribune News Service

Rajpura, December 5

Just after the 2020 hooch tragedy that left 120 persons dead in Amritsar, Tarn Taran and Gurdaspur, the Patiala police top brass had transferred over 100 cops from Ghanaur and Rajpura subdivisions to break the “smuggler-police” nexus.

It has come to the fore that most of the transferred cops were back in the twin jurisdictions using “clout”. They included ASI Sarabjit Singh, posted as the Rajpura Sadar munshi, who was arrested and dismissed following the November 27 extra neutral alcohol (ENA) seizure.

Keeping vigil

The extra neutral alcohol was being sold clandestinely from Rajpura Sadar police station to bootleggers and our vigil against it will continue. —A Venu Prasad, Addl chief secretary

The Patiala police had shifted over 150 personnel, including SI-level officials and ASIs, from Ghanaur, Rajpura and Samana over their alleged links with bootleggers and mining mafias.

The probe revealed smugglers’ links with Ghanaur and Rajpura from where the ENA was being smuggled out to the border belt.

“Many cops were hand in glove with smugglers and allowing them to manufacture and sell illicit liquor,” the Patiala police had claimed in 2020. The then DGP had ordered the then Patiala SSP to personally supervise raids in Rajpura against the illegal ENA supply chain.

On November 27, excise officials recovered 510 litre ENA from two vehicles near Banur. “It was meant for bootleggers in Amritsar,” they said.

A senior police officer confirmed Sarabjit too was transferred last year but managed a posting back in the police station again, within months.

A year on, a majority of these cops are back in their choicest police stations, using clout. Deputy CM Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa said the police-smugglers nexus would be ended in the state.