Senior IPS Officer Bhullar Appointed as IGP of Border Range Following Controversy

Chandigarh, September 1: Senior IPS officer Gurpreet Singh Bhullar has been appointed as the Inspector General of Police (IGP) for the Border Range, just a month after his removal from the position of Police Commissioner in Amritsar. This significant appointment comes in light of his new responsibilities related to security.

Bhullar was dismissed from his role as Amritsar Police Commissioner following a controversial statement linking a Pakistan ISI-supported terrorist module, apprehended by the Punjab police, to protests at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar.

In a major reshuffle of police officials, Bhullar replaces Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Harmanbir Singh Gill, who has now taken over as Amritsar’s Police Commissioner. The Border Range encompasses the districts of Amritsar, Batala, Gurdaspur, and Pathankot, primarily located near the India-Pakistan border.

Before his transfer, Bhullar was leading an investigation that uncovered a conspiracy linked to the ISI. Last month, the Amritsar Commissionerate police dismantled a cross-border terrorist module supported by the ISI, resulting in the arrest of nine individuals, including four minors, and the seizure of three illegal firearms, nine cartridges, and four petrol bomb bottles.

Following the viral spread of Bhullar’s press briefing video on social media, a police spokesperson clarified that parts of the press conference held on August 4 in Amritsar were misrepresented. The conference had disclosed details about the terrorist module’s dismantling, and certain segments were used to falsely connect the protests at Jantar Mantar to the ISI-supported terrorist module.

The spokesperson stated that Bhullar had indicated that some of the arrested individuals had conducted reconnaissance at Jantar Mantar and had planned to target protesters using petrol bombs. However, it was emphasized that no statement was made suggesting that those arrested were involved in the protests or had any connection to the demonstrators at Jantar Mantar.

The spokesperson further noted that altered background visuals, selective video editing, and accompanying captions created a misleading impression that the arrested individuals were linked to the Jantar Mantar protests. They asserted, “There was no alteration or tampering with the audio and actual information from the press conference, but selective editing and accompanying captions do not accurately represent the conference. It appears to be an attempt to misrepresent the police commissioner’s statements.”