Amritsar Police Chief Removed After ISI-Jantar Mantar Protest Link Claims, BJP Questions Timing
News india Amritsar Police Chief Removed After ISI-Jantar Mantar Protest Link Claims, BJP Questions Timing Amritsar Police Chief Removed After ISI-Jantar Mantar Protest Link Claims
News india Amritsar Police Chief Removed After ISI-Jantar Mantar Protest Link Claims, BJP Questions Timing Amritsar Police Chief Removed After ISI-Jantar Mantar Protest Link Claims, BJP Questions Timing Published By, Last Updated: August 07, 2026, 17:23 IST As per the order, Bhullar would be reporting to the DGP office till further orders. His posting order shall be issued later. Rapid Read Bhullar has been replaced by Harmanbir Singh, who has been appointed as the new Commissioner of Police, Amritsar. A politcal row got triggered after the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Punjab Government removed Amritsar Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar from his post, days after he claimed an alleged Pakistan-backed terror module and its purported links to the Jantar Mantar protests, with the BJP over the timing of his transfer. In an order issued by the Punjab’s Home Affairs Department dated August 7, Bhullar has been replaced by Harmanbir Singh, who is currently serving as DIG Border Range, Amritsar.
As per the order, Bhullar would be reporting to the DGP office till further orders. His posting order shall be issued later. The transfer order comes shortly after the Amritsar Commissionerate announced the arrest of nine people, including four minors, in connection with an alleged Pakistan-backed terror module. Police had claimed that the accused were acting at the behest of foreign-based ISI handlers and had been conducting surveillance of security installations. During a briefing on August 4, Bhullar said the investigation had revealed that some of the arrested accused had visited Jantar Mantar, allegedly carried out reconnaissance and planned to target security officials posted at the protest site with petrol bombs. The police had also announced the recovery of three pistols, nine live cartridges and four petrol bottle bombs. The Punjab government later issued a clarification, saying Bhullar had not stated that the arrested people were participants in the Jantar Mantar protests or that the protesters themselves had any links with the alleged terror module.
The government said selective editing of the police commissioner’s remarks had created a “wrongful impression" that the arrested accused were associated with the protesters. BJP Raises Timing Question Bhullar’s removal has now triggered a political controversy, with former Union minister Ravneet Singh Bittu questioning whether the police chief’s remarks had anything to do with the transfer. “The timing of Gurpreet Bhullar’s transfer is bound to raise eyebrows. Did his accurate revelations about the alleged Jantar Mantar plot trouble Kejriwal?" Bittu said in a post on X. The timing of Gurpreet Bhullar’s transfer is bound to raise eyebrows. Did his accurate revelations about the alleged Jantar Mantar plot trouble Kejriwal?@BJP4India @BJP4Punjab @BJPCentralMedia— Ravneet Singh Bittu (@RavneetBittu) August 7, 2026 The BJP leader alleged that Bhullar’s statements about the alleged Jantar Mantar plot may have caused discomfort within the Aam Aadmi Party leadership. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit About the Author Shobhit Gupta Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news.
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