Amritsar Commissioner of Police Gurpreet Singh Bhullar was transferred on Friday. The move comes days after a major controversy over his remarks. Bhullar had said that the members of Pakistan-backed terror modules busted in Punjab had visited New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar during students’ protest and planned to attack the gathering. Earlier this week, Amritsar Police busted two ISI-backed terror modules. They arrested nine people, including four juveniles, and recovered three pistols, nine cartridges, and four petrol-bottle bombs.
Videos of Bhullar’s August 4 press conference went viral on social media. On Thursday, a Punjab Police spokesperson clarified that the viral clips used distorted excerpts. The spokesperson stated that Bhullar never meant to connect the Jantar Mantar protests with the terrorist plots.
According to the official order, Bhullar must report to the DGP’s office in Chandigarh. DIG Border Range, Harmanbir Singh Gill, has taken over the post with additional charge.
The spokesperson said the Police Commissioner had mentioned that some of the arrested individuals had conducted reconnaissance at Jantar Mantar and planned to target protesters using petrol bombs. He clarified that no statement was made suggesting that the arrested individuals had participated in the protests or that the Jantar Mantar protesters had any connection to the module.
The spokesperson said the altered background visuals, selective video editing, and accompanying captions or explanations “are incorrect and create a misleading impression that the arrested individuals were linked to the Jantar Mantar protests”.
“While the audio and factual content of the press conference itself were not altered or morphed, the selective editing and accompanying captions fail to accurately represent the press conference. These appear to be attempts to convey the Police Commissioner’s statement in an incorrect and misleading manner.”
The spokesperson further said appropriate legal action is being taken in this matter in accordance with the provisions of the Information Technology Act.
An official statement of August 4 quoting Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said preliminary investigation revealed that the arrested accused were acting at the behest of foreign-based ISI handlers, who were attempting to recruit local youth to carry out terror-related activities, conduct surveillance of security installations, procure illegal weapons and disturb public peace.
Responding to the transfer of Police Commissioner Bhullar, former Union minister Ravneet Singh Bittu wrote on X: “The timing of Gurpreet Bhullar’s transfer is bound to raise eyebrows. Did his accurate revelations about the alleged Jantar Mantar plot trouble (AAP chief Arvind) Kejriwal?”
