After Aam Aadmi Party won in Punjab, CM Bhagwant Mann is daily taking various steps for the betterment of the state. The drug menace in Punjab is one of the biggest issues. During elections, AAP focused on ‘Nasha Mukt Punjab’. Now, for this, they are planning to revive the STF team in Punjab once again.
What is STF?
In India, a Special Task Force (STF) is a type of police task force created to deal with certain problems. Every state has the power to constitute an STF.
The STF is headed by an Additional Director General rank officer, who is assisted by an Inspector General of Police. The STF works as teams, with each team headed by either an Additional SP or Deputy SP. The SSP is in charge of all the operations conducted by the STF.
STF in Punjab
Under the leadership of Captain Amarinder Singh’s government, STF was formed in Punjab in 2017. At that time, ADGP Harpreet Sidhu IPS were called from Chattisgarh and appointed as the head of the team. Due to political pressure, after some time he was removed from this position. As the drug menace increased in Punjab, he was re-appointed to deal with this issue.
Now, AAP is planning to revive the STF team in Punjab.
According to sources, they will appoint a DG rank officer to head the team. Under his guidance, 3-4 ADGP rank officers will be appointed who will look after 2-3 IGs. Recently, 2 DG rank officers, namely, Siddharth Chattopadhyay, MK Tiwari and Rohit Chaudhary retired from their posts. Chances are that Harpreet Sidhu will soon be promoted to DG rank. If this happens, he will again be appointed as the head of the STF team once again.
According to reports, Harpreet Sidhu after the appointment as DG might get a free hand to select his team. With this, they will be able to break the nexus in the state. From small smugglers to all big fishes, everyone will be investigated. Old cases will be reviewed again as many cases were closed due to political pressure.
Apart from ADGP Harpreet Sidhu IPS; Sharad Satya Chauhan IPS is the other name that can be considered by AAP as the head of the STF team.