Amarinder opposes taking away drug probe from Punjab Police

Chandigarh: Former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Friday strongly opposed the move to handover the ongoing investigations into the alleged drug racket to another agency from Punjab Police. Singh, a Permanent Invitee to the Congress Working Committee pointed out, the police led by Patiala SSP Hardial Singh Mann had done a commendable job by busting the racket and entrusting the case with some other agency would affect the investigations.

"We must not seek the CBI to investigate the case for the heck of it particularly when the investigation is at a crucial stage," Singh said further warning, "Giving it to anyone else at this stage will help in playing it into the hands of the criminals with vested interests." Amarinder`s stand on the probe into drug case assumes significance in the backdrop of the state Congress seeking CBI probe into the matter. State Congress chief Partap Singh Bajwa had already announced a series of programmes by the party seeking transfer of the drug case to the CBI. The former chief minister cautioned all party leaders and parties to exercise restraint lest they play into the hands of vested interests to delay and divert the probe. "We have to be careful against the trap laid out by the miscreants to shift the focus of investigations apparently in a smart bid to save himself," he warned. Probably the people, who want the case to be handed over to the CBI at this stage when Patiala Police is nearing the conclusion into the investigations, only want to delay the matter to save their own skin, he added. "We can`t demoralise our police that too after such an outstanding job," he remarked. Amarinder said, he as well as the people of the state had full faith in the integrity and commitment of the police investigating the matter to the investigations to a logical conclusion and punish the culprits no matter how big and powerful they might be or how influential positions they might be holding.