Lawrence Bishnoi interview: 7 Punjab Police personnel suspended
Chandigarh (PTI): The Punjab Police has suspended seven personnel, including two deputy superintendent rank officers, in connection with an interview of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi while in police custody.
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the state police, led by the special director general of police (human rights), found that one interview of Bishnoi was conducted when he was in Punjab Police's custody in Mohali's Kharar while the second was done in Rajasthan.
The suspension came after the SIT found dereliction of duty on the part of the seven personnel.
According to an order of the Punjab home secretary issued on Friday, SP Gursher Singh Sandhu, DSP Sammar Vaneet, sub-inspector Reena (CIA Kharar), sub-inspector Jagatpal Jangu, sub-inspector Shaganjit Singh, assistant sub-inspector Mukhtiar Singh and head constable Om Parkash have been suspended.
"Keeping in view the sensitivity of the case, all the above officers have been suspended," said the order.
The home secretary order referred to the SIT report which found that Bishnoi's interview, aired on a private TV channel, was conducted through video conference on the intervening night of September 3 and 4 2022.
In March last year, a private news channel ran two interviews of Bishnoi.
The first interview was conducted on the premises of CIA (crime investigating agency) staff, Kharar which falls in the jurisdiction of SAS Nagar, Mohali.
The second interview was conducted when Bishnoi was lodged in Central Jail in Jaipur, according to the probe by the SIT, which submitted its report to the Punjab and Haryana High Court in July in a suo motu matter related to the use of mobile phones by inmates on jail premises.
Bishnoi is one of the accused in the 2022 murder case of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala.
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Sujit Nair raises concerns over speculation of DMK-AIADMK understanding to block TVK
Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.
Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.
Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.
According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.
He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.
He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.
Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.
He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.
Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.
He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.
