Political interference is plaguing the Indian police force, and it is also one of the leading reasons behind the shortcomings of police. Political affiliations play a pivotal role in various departmental inquisitions and punishment undertakings of the officials.
A politicized judicial system has wide-reaching consequences for democracy as it compromises the independence of the judiciary, facilitates corruption, hinders growth and reinforces a vicious cycle of dishonest leaders entering politics. Same can be seen in Punjab IG Paramraj Singh Umranangal case, there is political pressure to influence IG umranangal case.
Time and again, political pulls and pressure, direct and indirect, can be seen on police officials; unfortunately, this lowers the morale of the police force. This can be associated with Behbal Kalan Firing Case and Kotkapura Police Firing Case where PS Umranangal is supposedly made the main accused. At the time of his arrest, he was at the rank of Inspector General of Punjab.
Orders of IG Umranangal Arrest Are Politically Influenced
First and foremost, IPS PS Umranagnal was not a regular police officer; he was at Inspector General rank, and to reach such a higher position, you have to go through a lot of hardships. Police officials were asked about how they feel about the arrest of IG Paramraj Singh Umranangal, for which they said the orders given to us are politically influenced, and we don’t have any other option but to accept it. However, raising concern, they have asked what were the conditions that led to the shootout and who gave the shooting orders. This is still a burning question for which no one has a confirmed reply.
Moreover, PS Umranangal was the IG Ludhiana at that time, and there was no need for the police to fire at the protesters and to send the police force to Behbal Kalan. This is also an indication that he must have received orders from his seniors to send police force there. Seeing how an innocent police officer is being humiliated, it has significantly lowered the morale of the police officials. The police officials, quoting the example of IPS PS Umranangal, are saying that if a police officer at such high rank had to go through all this just to prove his innocence, then the sufferings of junior police officials will never end.
SIT Unfit in PS Umranagal Police Firing Case
Senior police officials also added that Capt. Amarinder Singh, being an ex-veteran, understands that such actions are never taken without the orders from their seniors. Even SIT, headed by Prabodh Kumar, made by him, was of no use as there were internal conflicts. Owing to this conflict, Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh was on one side, and rest of the team was on the other. The team has raised questions on the challan produced in the court by Kunwar Pratap Singh.
In a letter written to Capt Amarinder Singh and another one written to DGP, the team asserted that Mr. Kunwar made the challan on his own, and he didn’t bother involving the rest of the team. The result of this conflict has only led to a delay in the whole investigation. It is sad to see that nobody is concerned about the well-being of the families of more than 20 police officials who were injured in the Behbal Kalan.
There is a Big disclosure in kotkapura case sit chargesheet, According to the charge sheet page 48, the SIT found that there was a peaceful protest going on from the protesters sitting at the residence. There was nothing which has forced them to do anything wrong until someone provokes them to do so.
Using the Political Influence in IGP Umranangal Case Can Not Be Denied
It seems that there are endless examples that can be quoted in relation to this case. At times, our politicians have a knack of making weird remarks. Such an event took place when our politicians were asked about the removal of Article 370. The reply shocked the nation where they said it is an international matter, and we don’t have any role in it. In another instance, our soldiers were asked about the authenticity of the URI attack. Our soldiers were asked if they have any proof of whether they have killed any militants or they have dropped bombs on trees.
Now, when our politicians are questioning our soldiers’ actions, Pakistan gets a chance to target us with their infuriating comments. All such remarks lower the morale of all the soldiers who are ready to lay down their lives for the nation no matter what are the conditions.
Politician’s role in the arrest of PS Umranangal cannot be denied. Since leading names of top police officials and politicians are involved in the case, they are dragging the police officer to conceal their involvement. SIT also (Special Investigation Team) has apt evidence against kotkapura accuse Mantar Singh brar, ex-MLA from the same location. He had a conversation with the then CM of the ruling party in Punjab and informed that the situation in Kotkapura is distressing. If timely action is not taken and the protesters are not dispersed on time, the number of protesters is set to increase.
During the investigation, it was found that he made 157 calls to the top politicians and police officials on the intervening night of October 13-14, 2015. This conversation, somewhere, indicates Brar’s involvement in the case. Besides, using his political influence, he didn’t let the doctors treat and prepare medical reports of the injured protesters. The investigation team found that Mantar Brar made contradictory statements about his presence at the spot, which was enough to arrest him.
PS Umranangal Contribution to Uplift Punjab Society
Every year, the family of PS Umranangal organizes ‘Mela Umranangal Da‘ in the memory of Late Sdr Jiwan Singh Umranangal, Sukhdev Singh, and Sampooran Kaur who laid their lives during the 1984 riots. The mela celebrates the cultural heritage and traditional games of Punjab.
There are various activities that the mela hosts such as free medical camps, children upliftment programs, dance & entertainment events, Kabaddi Cup, etc. PS Umranangal always wanted to divert the youth of Punjab and nearby areas towards sports events rather than becoming a drug addict. World Cancer Care, a UK-based global and charity organization, hosts medical camps at the mela, especially for cancer patients. The best thing about the camp is that they use state of the art equipment and also provide free medicines to all the patients.
PS Umranangal also gave a cheque of Rs. One lakh to the family of the deceased Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh. He laid his life in the line of duty in Jammu and Kashmir. He visited his village in Tarn Taran and handed over the cheque on behalf of Shaheed Sukhdev Singh Umranangal Memorial Trust.
As citizens of this proud nation, we should respect and encourage our soldiers who are always ready to lay down their lives for the dignity of the nation, so that we can have a peaceful life. It is not fair to jump to conclusions, let us keep faith in our judicial system and wait for the much-deserved justice.