Punjab CM rejects voluntary retirement plea of officer heading SIT probe in Kotakpura, Behbal Kalan firing cases

Chandigarh [India], April 13 : Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday refused to accept the resignation letter of IPS Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh -- currently heading the Special Investigation Teams (SITs) probing the Kotakpura and Behbal Kalan firing cases -- seeking premature retirement from service.
Declining the voluntary retirement plea of the IPS officer, the Chief Minister said the latter was a highly competent and efficient officer whose services were needed in the border state, especially at a time when Punjab was facing various internal and external security threats.
"The state needs the expertise and experience of the officer, who has contributed exceptional service to the Punjab Police in various important positions," said Singh.
Referring to media reports on the Punjab and Haryana High Court's orders in the Kotakpura case probe, the Chief Minister pointed out that he had already made it clear that any decision of the court that seeks to remove Pratap as the SIT chief or to quash the investigations in the case would be challenged by his government in the Supreme Court.
"The officer and his team have done an excellent job of expeditiously investigating the Kotakpura case, which the Akalis have tried hard to stall for the past four years," Singh said and added that the probe would be taken to its logical conclusion under the supervision of the able officer himself.