PATIALA, Dec. 10 — Patiala Senior Superintendent of Police Varun Sharma proceeded on a week’s leave Tuesday evening, days before the December 14 zila parishad and panchayat samiti polls and hours before the Punjab and Haryana High Court is scheduled to take up a petition on a viral audio controversy, senior officials said.
Sangrur SSP Sartaj Chahal has been asked to oversee policing in Patiala for now, though the state election commission will decide whether a formal replacement needs to be deputed for district-level poll duties, officials added.
“Yes, SSP Varun Sharma is on leave and seniors at the Chandigarh headquarters are aware of the matter,” a senior IPS officer told this newspaper.
The sudden move precedes Wednesday’s High Court hearing into an audio clip released last week by Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal. The clip purportedly features SSP Sharma giving directions to obstruct opposition candidates from filing nomination papers for the local body elections.
The court had, on Monday, asked the state election commission to expedite its inquiry into the recording. It also sought a status report amid increasing political friction over alleged misuse of police machinery during the nomination process.
