Dheer arrest: Saini moved from SIT, IG Arora takes over

The Punjab government has moved IG Sumedh Singh Saini as chief of the Special Investigation Team probing the Nayagaon rape case of 2003. IG (Headquarters) Suresh Arora has taken his place.

In a letter to his lawyer Anupam Gupta, Saini had expressed his wish to quit as head of the SIT after Punjab DGP S.S.Virk, in a communique to the court, had disapproved the manner and conduct of the SIT in the arrest of The Indian Express Principal Correspondent Gautam Dheer. The DGP had said that Gautam Dheer’s case could be delinked from the Nayagaon rape case, and could be probed by an independent agency. Virk had also said that the SIT should be placed under the supervision of an officer of the rank of ADGP.

The decision to replace Saini was taken after a meeting of the DGP and the home secretary with Chief Minister Amarinder Singh last evening.

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The new SIT head has also been given a free hand to choose his own team, and asked to study the case file and the investigations conducted so far.

The DGP today said the action was necessitated after the former SIT head had expressed his wish to quit and the government did not want investigations in the main case to suffer. The decision on delinking of the case and handing over the entire case to the CBI is likely to be taken on Monday.