Gurdaspur: Congress MP and former Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa on Thursday levelled serious allegations against sections of the Punjab Police, claiming that some senior officers were in touch with gangsters and demanding an investigation into their mobile phone records to establish the nature of the alleged links.Addressing mediapersons here, Randhawa alleged that officers holding ranks up to SSP and DSP were in contact with gangsters.Throwing a challenge to Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav, Randhawa demanded that the mobile phones and call detail records of the officers concerned be examined to ascertain which gangsters had been in contact with them and how frequently they communicated.Randhawa said he was willing to face legal action if his allegations were found to be untrue. “If my allegations are proved false, the DGP can register an FIR against me. But if they are found to be correct, cases should be registered against the officers concerned,” he said.The Congress leader said his party would take the issue to the streets and that he would lead protests outside the offices of the officials allegedly involved.Randhawa also sought a thorough probe into the death of Gulzar Singh of Toor village in Sangrur, alleging that the case could have links to gangsters operating at the national level.Questioning the functioning of the state police, he alleged that common citizens facing threats from gangsters often struggled to secure police protection or obtain arms licences, while families of gangsters accused of extortion and murder were allegedly being provided government security.He further blamed the rise in extortion and gangster activity in Punjab on the appointment of an ad hoc DGP, arguing that the state required a permanent police chief to strengthen law and order and tackle organised crime more effectively.
