CHANDIGARH: Taking serious note of media reports suggesting dissension among the top brass of the Punjab Police, Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Saturday warned that he would not tolerate any indiscipline in the force.

The Chief Minister discussed the issue with Home Secretary NS Kalsi, DGP Suresh Arora and CPS to CM Suresh Kumar, and directed them to examine the matter and suggest suitable action, as necessary to resolve the same.

Captain Amarinder Singh was of the view that any grievance by any member of the police force, including those against colleagues, should be routed through the well-established administrative procedures and channels laid down for the purpose. There were well laid down hierarchies that needed to be stringently adhered to, if the police force was to function efficaciously, he added.

The Chief Minister said that as a former member of a uniformed force, he was of the opinion that any act of indiscipline was a matter of grave concern, to be treated with seriousness. The 80,000 strong Punjab Police force naturally looked up to its senior officers for leadership and direction, he said, adding that internal discord or friction could seriously undermine its professional and operational capabilities.

The Punjab Police, which had bravely fought militancy in the State in the 1980s and 90s, was required to be both professional and transparent in its functioning in order to effectively deal with the various challenges on the crime and law & order front, the Chief Minister pointed out.

Police personnel, especially senior officers, were in the public eye at all times and needed to exercise due caution in their personal and professional conduct, Captain Amarinder Singh stressed, making it clear that he would not hesitate to take stern action, if needed, to check indiscipline.

The Chief Minister directed the Home Secretary and the DGP to ensure that all investigations in the drugs cases are carried out impartially, without fear or favour. His government was committed not only to the elimination of drugs but also to stringent punishment, under the law, to those responsible for destroying the state’s future generation with this menace, he asserted.