Overview
- SSP Ravjot Kaur Grewal was suspended on November 8, three days before the November 11 vote, with Amritsar police chief Gurpreet Singh Bhullar given interim charge and IPS officer Surinder Lamba later posted as the new SSP.
- The Punjab CEO, citing an EC directive, tasked Special DGP Ram Singh to review all Model Code period FIRs and arrests in Tarn Taran and adjoining districts within 36 hours after observers flagged coordinated police actions.
- Shiromani Akali Dal alleged false cases, detentions of workers, and an incident where two plainclothes men claiming CIA affiliation chased the SAD candidate’s daughter, complaints it lodged with EC observers and the state CEO.
- Official notices did not specify a reason for the suspension, and AAP leaders questioned the action as lacking a concrete complaint, with one alleging political influence on the poll body.
- Congress and SAD welcomed the shake-up; two DSPs were also shifted, and polling is set for November 11 with counting on November 14 after the seat fell vacant in June.