IPS officer Iqbal Preet Singh Sahota gets additional charge of Punjab DGP

CHANDIGARH: The Charanjit Singh Channi-led Congress government in Punjab on Saturday gave additional charge of state police chief to 1988-batch IPS officer Iqbal Preet Singh Sahota. The incumbent DGP and 1987-batch IPS officer Dinkar Gupta has been allowed to go on a month’s leave.
A native of Jalandhar and a low-profile officer, Sahota is holding the charge of special DGP of the armed battalion at Jalandhar.There are six IPS officers of Punjab cadre who are senior to Sahota but he was the chief minister’s first choice. Like chief minister Channi, Sahota also belongs to the Scheduled Caste community, which constitutes 32% of the state’s population. Sahota would superannuate on August 21, 2022. It is learnt that Gupta may move on central deputation as he had been empanelled by the central government in May last year .
Other two IPS officers who were being considered as frontrunners to head the state police include the 1986-batch officer Sidharth Chattopadhyaya and 1987-batch officer VK Bhawra.
DGP: Punjab to send panel to UPSC
It is learnt that Chattopadhyaya’s name was being pushed by the Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu but Channi chose to appoint Sahota. Chattopadhyaya’s petition challenging Gupta’s appointment as Punjab DGP by ignoring his seniority is still pending in the Supreme Court.
After assuming additional charge of DGP Punjab, Sahota said, “Further strengthening the fight against drugs and keeping vigil on bad elements, besides maintaining law and order in the state...are among my top priorities."
The state government would now send a panel of all eligible IPS officers for the post of state police head to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) as per the Supreme Court decision of July 3, 2018. Only after the UPSC sends back the list of three suitable officers for the post, the state government would be able to appoint one of them as the state police head. If Sahota’s name does not figure in the UPSC list then the Punjab government will have to choose another officer for the top post. There are six IPS officers senior to Sahota, but three of them are going to retire in next six months - MK Tiwari is going to superannuate in February next year and Siddhartha Chhotopadhyaya and Rohit Choudhary in March next year.
A 1984-batch Punjab cadre IPS officer Samant Kumar Goyal who is on central deputation and heading the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) has been given service extension till June 30, 2022.
Panel questioned Sahota’s role in SIT
Then ADGP, Sahota headed the first special investigation team (SIT) probing the sacrilege cases and Behbal Kalan police firing incident of October 2015 during the previous SAD-BJP regime. Justice Ranjit Singh, who headed the commission constituted by the present Congress government, had raised questions over the functioning of this SIT for its lapse in not pursuing the investigation of two murders in the October 2015 Behbal Kalan police firing incident to logical end. The commission, in its first interim report submitted to the Punjab government in August 2018, had submitted, "Was this SIT constituted to give a decent burial to the case? It appears that this was with the aim to let the police officer responsible for action of the hook and to escape the rigors of law. CW-162 (Iqbal Preet Singh Sahota) would not have any valid explanation for this lapse in not pursuing the investigation of the case of two murders to logical ends."
The commission’s report reads, "Virtually police have not carried out any investigation for deaths of two persons and injuries to others at Kotkapura and at Behbal Kalan. The SIT, which was to supervise the investigation, also did nothing."