Chandigarh: Following the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) crushing defeat in the Delhi assembly elections, the party has launched what officials call “operation clean-up” in Punjab, targeting corruption in the only state that it holds now.
On Wednesday, two days after the Punjab government replaced the state vigilance bureau chief for “inaction” in cases of corruption, at least 52 policemen were dismissed for being “unfit to serve”.
All the 52 policemen are of inspector and constable-level rank and were either facing charges of corruption, gross misconduct or long absence from service, said Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav in a press meet.
On Monday, the state government also suspended IAS officer Rajesh Tripathi, serving as deputy commissioner of Muktsar Sahib, following “serious complaints” of corruption and initiated a vigilance inquiry against him.
After losing Delhi to the BJP, the only state in which AAP is in power in the country is Punjab, and the party has decided to go all out to retain it in the 2027 assembly elections.
AAP convenor and former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had held a special meeting last week with Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, his cabinet ministers and party MLAs following the Delhi results, and asked the Punjab team to work hard to ensure that the party wins the state again in 2027.
Mann was told that Punjab is to be turned into a “model showcase state” of the AAP, sources who attended the meeting said. Following the meeting, Mann issued instructions to officers to “clean up” the police and bureaucracy.
A communication from the CM said he had directed officers to function in a responsive and accountable manner, and said that feedback about each deputy commissioner, SSP, SDM, tehsildar, naib tehsildar, SP, DSP, SHO and other field officers/officials will be taken not only from the general public but also from elected representatives like MPs and MLAs. It was further directed that the said feedback will automatically lead to rewards and punishments for the officers.
Addressing a press conference in Chandigarh, DGP Yadav said Wednesday that almost 400 policemen of various ranks had been identified and action would be taken against them in the coming days.
For action against the higher ranks, permission of the state government is required, said the DGP.
He added that the move had been initiated following instructions issued by the CM on 13 January to bring about complete accountability and transparency in the functioning of the Punjab Police.
“Officials who have FIRs registered against them, or have indulged in gross misconduct have no place in the police. They have been found not fit to serve after due process and have been dismissed under Article 311 of the Constitution,” said the DGP.
Leader of the opposition Partap Singh Bajwa alleged Wednesday that corruption was rampant in Punjab and AAP leaders were involved. In a letter to the Punjab Governor, Bajwa demanded a judicial or Enforcement Directorate inquiry into party funds of the AAP.
“A disturbing scam has emerged involving the misuse of government machinery to extort party funds from officials of the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL). This egregious act of corruption allegedly served the sole purpose of funding the recent Delhi assembly elections, corroborated by the Election Commission’s raid at Kapurthala House a few days before the scheduled elections,” stated Bajwa.
“The so-called ‘kattar imaandar’ (fully honest) party has reportedly resorted to coercion and threats to collect funds from various government departments. Courageous members of the PSEB (Punjab State Electricity Board) Engineers’ Association have taken the first step in exposing this deeply rooted scam, revealing that such fraudulent practices have been ongoing since the AAP assumed power in Punjab,” he wrote, adding that a letter on the subject, dated 6 February, 2025, by the PSEB Engineers’ Association “needs to be considered seriously”.
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Crackdown in Punjab
On Monday, the government had unceremoniously removed Varinder Kumar, a 1993-batch IPS officer, as Chief Director of the Vigilance Bureau, replacing him with G. Nageswara Rao, a 1995-batch IPS officer.
Kumar has not been given any posting and has been asked to report to the DGP for further orders. Sources in the Punjab Chief Minister’s Office said Kumar was removed following “inaction” on complaints of corruption.
On joining, Rao emphasised that a zero-tolerance policy has been adopted by the state government and would be strictly enforced.
In his Wednesday press briefing, Yadav said that in order to bring about added transparency in the functioning of the police, the state was all set to introduce e-registration of FIRs in cases of vehicle thefts.
He said the system was already being followed in Delhi and was hugely successful. Giving details, Yadav said that complaints regarding theft of vehicles will be registered directly on a dedicated portal, which would push these complaints to the district police stations for action.
Yadav also announced the launch of a pilot project in collaboration with the Indian Police Foundation for the conduct of third-party audit of police functioning in the districts of Mohali, Fatehgarh Sahib and Roopnagar, to begin with.
Yadav said the audit would focus on judging the working of the police on the parameters of registration of complaints, response time, behaviour and conduct, etc. The foundation will also carry out research to suggest improvements on these parameters.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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