Breaking his silence over the allegations of involvement in a drug case, Punjab police chief Suresh Arora on Thursday lashed out at the “vested interests” for trying to erode the credibility and morale of the police by launching a malicious and baseless campaign against him and other top brass of the force.
Director General of Police Suresh Arora minced no words to say that he would explore all legal options against those engaged in the spiteful and conspiracy.
“My integrity and hard work of over 35 years is being brought under a cloud by certain vested interests perhaps for personal gains as well as other ulterior motives. I want to tell those people that I will do whatever is required to strongly defend my name and reputation and also that of my force, and I would explore all legal options in this regard,” he asserted.
Defending himself against a colleague’s allegations of his suspected role in a drug racket as well as accusations of harassment, Arora categorically said that during his career spanning 36 years, he had not supported any police officer involved in any criminal or corrupt activity.
Arora, countering the “vile and vicious attack” on his integrity and credibility, said that he had been forced to break his silence on certain issues as he felt that various aspersions on his character and official conduct were not only an attack on his unblemished reputation but were also affecting the morale of the police force.
He also refused to comment on the specific allegations that had been made before the Punjab and Haryana High Court saying that the matter was sub-judice.
“The half-baked accusations being published, highlighted and circulated by vested interests for furtherance of their objectives also had direct and serious implications for national security,” said Arora adding that this became even more pertinent in view of the fact that Punjab was a border state with its neighbouring country constantly trying to cause disruption, insurrection and destabilization in the State as well as the Indian nation-state.
He stressed that it was incumbent that the top brass of the State’s police force enjoys a clean image and credibility. The State of Punjab cannot compromise on the question of merit and integrity of its topmost police officers, he added.
Referring to his own unblemished record, the DGP pointed out that he had served as SSP in many districts during difficult times, including as SSP Amritsar during Operation Black Thunder. “I am the only serving officer in the state empanelled, after a very rigorous process, to hold the position of Director General under the Government of India,” he said.
Even as he came out in his own defence, the DGP made it clear that he would continue to scrupulously avoid either favouring or targeting any officer of the force. “While I have always endeavored to be objective while evaluating the work and conduct of my subordinates, I am opposed to media trials and believed that in the present day and age of free-for-all media, every effort should be made to give a free deal to every individual, even one who is seemingly under a cloud,” said Arora.
Saying that nobody is above the law, “it is imperative to protect officers against vague and unsubstantiated allegations, as well as against unconfirmed and unverified insinuations”.
On former Moga SSP Raj Jit Singh, Arora said that he had never worked with the officer and the issue pertained to 2013, when he was not even the DGP. Denying that Raj Jit was his blue-eyed boy, Arora made it clear that if the officer was found to be involved in any criminal activity, he would have to face the consequences under the law.
Notably, Arora’s name surfaced in connection to a drug case that a special investigation team (SIT) under DGP (Human Resource Development) Siddhartha Chattopadhyaya was investigating. Chattopadhyay told the High Court in April that his investigations “into the nexus between Punjab’s drug traffickers and its law enforcement”, in specific a case involving Raj Jit and Inspector Inderjit Singh, had led him to two top cops — his colleagues Suresh Arora and Dinkar Gupta. He not only accused Arora of harassing him, but also claimed “a benami house of a DGP was being investigated”. He told the High Court, in his April application, that he was being implicated in the suicide case of Chief Khalsa Diwan president Charanjit Singh Chadha’s son Inderpreet Chadha.