Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh today alleged the arrest of 25 people for trespassing into Fazilka prison to allegedly meet inmate Shiv Lal Doda, considered to be close to Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal, exposed the "nexus" between the Badal family and criminals.
"The state is in the grip of total lawlessness and as per the DGP's own admission as many as 52 armed gangs are on the loose," Amarinder said and declared that he would "expose and punish" the Badal family in the Nabha jailbreak case and the Fazilka prison episode.
Punjab Congress vice president Sunil Kumar Jakhar, who led a delegation of state Congress leaders to submit a memorandum over the issue to state Chief Electoral Officer V K Singh, alleged the Badal government is influencing the probe into the incident and soft-pedaling the case.
"Police are trying to save the culprits by distorting facts. They are lying that the meeting was held in the superintendent's office in Fazilka sub-jail," he added.
In its memorandum, Congress demanded immediate dismissal of the Badal government in the light of the Fazilka sub-jail incident and conduct of the Assembly polls under President's Rule to prevent any interference or disturbance in the poll process.
The party also demanded handing over of the investigation into the case to a central agency.
"The incident has exposed the nefarious link of the ruling SAD with criminals in Punjab. It once again showed that free and fair election in the state is not possible under the Badal-led government," Jakhar said.
He alleged the people who entered the jail, had either forced their entry, which amounts to criminal trespass, or they had bribed their way into the compound, in which case, proper charges under Prevention of Corruption Act should be framed against them.
The entry showed complicity of higher-ups in the incident, Jakhar alleged and asked why Doda's name was not mentioned in the FIR.
He also demanded that call records of the DC and the DSP concerned be made public to find out how many times Sukhbir had called and intervened since the raid.
Congress in the memorandum urged the EC, which had on Wednesday ordered the Fazilka prison raid, to take the matter to its logical conclusion and place the state under President's Rule so that elections can be held without disturbance.
Asking why the SSP had not been involved in the raid,
Jakhar said if the poll panel had no faith in the SSP then the situation on the ground is really bad.
In its memorandum to the state Chief Electoral Officer, Punjab Congress expressed apprehension that the meeting in the jail premises was held to plan large-scale disruption during the upcoming elections and the issue assumes more significance in the light of the Nabha jail-break incident.
The party also alleged that photographs showed Doda was being provided all modern facilities, including AC, radiator, bed, carpet in the prison, from where he appeared to be conducting his illegal business.
