Yearlong tenure extension for Bathinda DSP raises eyebrows

A deputy superintendent of police has been given a year-long extension in his tenure by the Punjab authorities, resulting in many eyebrows being raised within the police and political circles.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Bathinda, Gurjit Singh Romana, formally retired on Sunday (July 31). But a notification, issued on July 26, by the Punjab house ministry, acknowledged that Romana will proceed because the DSP of Bathinda until July 31, 2022. Ironically, the notification by the Punjab authorities goes towards the state’s personal coverage of not giving service extensions for its workers that was applied final yr.
Well-known and well-liked among the many ranks of Punjab’s ruling Congress get together, Romana had hit the headlines in 2017 after being indicted in departmental inquiries for releasing an accused in a drug case. He was held responsible for his suspected function within the FIR lodged towards one Gobind Gupta for allegedly having an unlawful inventory of 1,500 habit-forming tablets.
Although the allegations towards Romana have been discovered to be true in an inside report submitted, no motion was taken towards him. Even although Romana was acquitted, and continued serving within the pressure, a second case was lodged towards the suspect within the drug case and the person re-arrested.

“It is not possible for a DSP level officer to convince the home department to give him an extension in tenure, especially when the state has no such policy in place. Romana’s extension was pushed solely by Cabinet minister Manpreet Singh Badal, who chose to look past the officer’s chequered history. On one side the Punjab government is giving jobs to the sons and daughters of Congress MLAs, on the other, it is promoting officers with dubious past records by giving them undue extensions. Such officers will be used by the government in the upcoming Assembly elections by the ruling party in 2022.,” mentioned Aam Adami Party MLA from Talwandi Sabo, Baljinder Kaur.
She added, “If there is a no extension policy in place by the state, then how was Romana exclusively asked to carry on for one more year? This government has no merit and works  only in a manner that suits itself.”
Gupta, who was arrested on April 10, 2017, was launched inside 10 days of lodging the FIR at Bathinda’s Nehianwala police station after a courtroom granted him bail. In the cancellation report, Romana had reportedly cited a drug inspector’s assertion claiming that the accused, Gupta, had the licence to promote and buy such medicines. Sources later mentioned that no motion was taken towards Romana after the inner report later concluded that Gupta’s launch was a mistake on the a part of Romana and never a deliberate try.
After the inquiry indicated him, Romana was transferred to sixth IRB, Ladda Kothi, in Sangrur, for a while. However, he quickly returned because the DSP in Bathinda after the probe towards him concluded.

Contacted, newly-appointed working president of Punjab Pardesh Congress Committee, Pawan Goyal, mentioned, “I am not conscious of the info of the case. The Opposition is simply hurling baseless allegations. Chief Minister, Captain Amarinder Singh, will look into the matter and if there was something improper in giving the DSP an extension.
Punjab Finance Minister, Manpreet Singh Badal, didn’t reply repeated requires a touch upon the developments.