CHANDIGARH: Controversial superintendent of police, Salwinder Singh, who had been questioned by the national investigation agency (NIA) after the terror attack on the Pathankot Indian Air Force base in January 2016, which killed seven security personnel, is likely to soon be dismissed by the Punjab government.
Highly placed sources said that Singh will be issued marching orders as the process to dismiss the Punjab police service (PPS) officer from service has already been set in motion by the State home department.
Salwinder Singh had been mired in controversy over the Pathankot attack by Pakistani militants and was repeatedly questioned by the NIA in this regard. He was later let off after he alleged that the terrorists had kidnapped him at gunpoint.
The NIA subsequently gave him a clean chit stating that it could not find any incriminating evidence against him after some scientific tests. Singh has from the beginning maintained that he had no prior knowledge about the terror attack.
Gurdaspur police had in 2016 booked Singh in two different cases of sexual harassment under section 354 A of the IPC. On August 4, 2016, one Rajnesh Kumar had given a complaint to the then Punjab chief minister, Parkash Singh Badal, in Gurdaspur claiming that his wife was repeatedly raped by Singh on the pretext that Kumar would get a clean chit in a criminal case.
In October, 2016, police had booked after seven lady constables had lodged a complaint with the director general of police, Punjab, Suresh Arora in which they alleged sexual harassment.
Inspector general of police, Gurpreet Kaur Deo, conducted an inquiry and found Salwinder Singh guilty.
He had been on the run after the police tightened their noose around him as he had been suspended by the government, but he recently surrendered before a Gurdaspur court.
Sources said that his links with drug smugglers operating from across the border was also under the scanner, which he has denied.