Security breach at Jalandhar strongroom, cop suspended

DERELICTION OF DUTY AAP candidate entered premises with gun

JALANDHAR: A Punjab Police constable was suspended on Sunday after Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate from the Phillaur assembly segment Saroop Singh Kadiana entered the outer premises of the strongroom (where the electronic voting machines are kept) with his weapon on Saturday.

Constable Kulwinder Singh was posted on duty at the entry gate of the strongroom. “Cops posted at the entry gate have to check every person, even the government official, before allowing them on the strongroom premises. But the AAP candidate was not checked,” said commissioner of police Arpit Shukla.

The incident came to light when Kadiana voluntarily offered the police to take possession of his weapon after crossing the first gate. “It was AAP candidate who told the police that he was carrying a weapon. The constable was suspended for dereliction of duty,” said Shukla.

There is a three-tier security at all strongrooms in which Punjab Police guards the entry gates and the outer premises, the second line of security is manned by Punjab Armed Police and the rooms where EVMs are kept are guarded by the Central Reserved Police Force where nobody is allowed to enter. The candidate can enter the premises till the second layer where he can watch the live video of the strongroom.

Cops at the entry gate have to check every person. But the constable didn’t frisk AAP candidate. ARPIT SHUKLA, Jalandhar police commissioner