The Punjab government has decided to dismiss a DSP of its police in the case of a telecasted interview on a private TV channel in 2023 of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, who is in jail on charges of dozens of felonies. This action has taken place when the High Court upheld the Director General of Police (DGP) of Punjab in this case. In March 2023, two interviews of the gangster were aired one after the other, after which questions were raised about the gross negligence of the police and prison administration. However, at that time the DGP immediately claimed in the media that the interview did not take place in any jail in Punjab, while later on the court order, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed to investigate the matter found out after investigation that One of these interviews took place at the CIA Police Station in Kharar when the accused was in the custody of the Punjab Police. The ‘SIT’ had also disclosed the collusion of many police officers in this case.
After hearing the government’s case regarding the officer’s dismissal, the High Court asked the DGP on what basis he had given the statement that the interview was not held in any jail in the state, while the accused was in the custody of the Punjab Police at that time. . It is absolutely necessary for the court to say that the Chief of Police should have first investigated the matter fully as it is a matter of transparency and public trust, senior officers in responsible positions should have dealt with such serious issues quickly. Can’t dismiss from Apart from this, the question also remains as to whether the DSP level officer had conducted the interview on his own or other people were also involved in this matter. As the matter became a national headline, the state government also became agitated and political corruption remained dominant. The reputation of the police has been damaged due to the revelation of the collusion of many police personnel in this case. In such a situation, the state government has taken the right action by taking the step of dismissing the DSP. Such a live custodial interview of an accused facing serious charges also hurts the public’s trust in the police, administration and political apparatus as they fear such malpractices from officials in responsible positions. do not keep Along with this, fixing the accountability of the Punjab Police by the High Court will also restore this confidence to some extent. Punjab is a border state and is considered to be the cradle of political and social movements. Therefore, the police need to keep their character clean.