Chandigarh: Chief minister Bhagwant Mann-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government on Friday suspended Jagatpreet Singh, the senior superintendent of police (SSP), Vigilance Bureau (VB), Ludhiana, a day after he issued summons to Congress leader Bharat Bhushan Ashu, who is contesting June 19 Ludhiana West by-election.
The VB had summoned Ashu in connection with a five-month old school land misuse case relating to the January 8, 2025 police case of cheating, criminal breach of trust, forgery and conspiracy against him. However, according to information, the SSP was suspended as the government suspected the summons were issued to give Ashu the benefit in the bypoll by getting him political sympathy.
Reacting to the developments, Ashu alleged that according to his information, all the 28 police stations of Ludhiana had been asked to find out any complaints pending against him so as to implicate him. However, the government had to take a U-turn because of the widespread criticisms because of the summons. As for the charges, he said that he had resigned from the school management over 10 years ago.
PARTY BACKS ASHU
Meanwhile, the leader of the Opposition (LoP) Partap Bajwa ripped into the AAP and Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann for what he alleged “a calculated attempt to intimidate” Congress candidate B Ashu ahead of the Ludhiana West bypoll.
Bajwa held that the “Summons were issued to him by the Vigilance Bureau just weeks before polling - not as part of any genuine investigation, but as a crude, desperate tactic to gain political advantage.” When their intimidation attempt backfired and public backlash intensified, AAP shifted gears in a bizarre U-turn, he added.
However, the VB SSP - who had issued the summons to Ashu - was suddenly suspended and according to reports, the Mann government claimed the officer was trying to help Ashu “gain political mileage,” Bajwa held calling it a “laughable face-saving stunt.” “What kind of circus is this? Is Bharat Bhushan Ashu running the police department now?” he asked.
