Facing flak over law and order situation in the wake of protests over sacrilege incidents, Punjab government on Sunday shunted out its police chief Sumedh Singh Saini, replacing him with Suresh Arora, who had played a key role in fighting terrorism in the state in late 80s.

“Saini has been transferred,” Punjab home secretary Jagpal Sandhu said, adding that he was given the new charge as Chairman of Police Housing Corporation. Arora, a 1982-batch IPS officer, was serving as the Director General of Police-cum-Chief Director, Vigilance Bureau.

He had played a crucial role in fighting terrorism and was posted as the SP (Headquarters), Amritsar, during Operation Black Thunder I, and as SSP Amritsar at the time of Operation Black Thunder II. He has served as the SSP in almost all districts, besides serving as the DIG, CM Security, after the assassination of then CM Beant Singh.

A postgraduate in law from the University of London, Arora has won various gallantry medals and awards, including the President’s Meritorious Medal, the Distinguished Service Medal and the Prakram Medal.

The Election Commission of India had appointed Suresh Arora as the Director General of Police of Punjab ahead of last Lok Sabha polls. He was selected from among three officers, whose names were forwarded to the ECI by the state government for the post, after DGP Saini had proceeded on a long leave ahead of polls, following which Congress sought his removal from the post.

Saini was believed to be close to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal.

Congress and most of the Sikh organisations were against Saini for holding the post of the DGP. Punjab was rocked by protests over alleged desecration of holy book. The state police had come under attack after two persons were killed in firing at Behbal Kalan village in Faridkot while they were protesting.

The Congress and AAP had demanded imposition of President’s rule in Punjab contending that the state government had failed to tackle the law and order situation, which was deteriorating fast and spiralling out of control, in the wake of recent incident of desecration of the holy book of the Sikhs.

Janardhan Mahato, who has been identified by Geeta (the mute woman who has spent over a decade in Pakistan) as her father, expressed confidence that he will pass the DNA test for sure.

“They can take a DNA test or whatever they want. I am not running anywhere. I will pass the DNA test,” Mahato said.

He added that he was extremely happy now that Geeta would be returning soon.

On Friday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that Geeta would be handed over to the true family in India only after the DNA tests.

“On October 26, we will be bringing Geeta back to India. Together with Geeta, we have invited five official family members of Edhi foundation they will be treated as state guest during their stay in India.” MEA official spokesperson Vikas Swarup had said.

The Pakistani security forces had found Geeta near the eastern border with India in 2001.

Since then, she has been in the care of the Edhi Foundation.

BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha on Sunday accused the party leadership of sidelining him in the assembly elections in Bihar, and urged them to see how “your own Bihari (Babu) has been treated”.

“My party workers, friends, supporters and well-wishers wonder why I am not seen on the campaign trail,” the veteran actor said. “I assure them it is not by choice.”

He said he had been “kept out thanks to insecure local leaders who we know very well… who have fed matter of convenience stories to the party leaders”.

He said it was “not a question of Bihari vs Bahari but of how your own Bihari (Babu) has been treated by own people for no fault.

“However, in the larger interest of Bihar and its people, I hope wish and pray that our people get the support and trust of the voters,” he added.

Sinha, who has fallen foul of the Bharatiya Janata Party after publicly praising Chief Minister and JD-U leader Nitish Kumar, said about the campaign trail: “Muhabbat karne waale, kam na honge. Teri mehfil mein lekin, hum na honge.”

A close aide of former Prime Minister late Indira Gandhi has come out in the open to question the leadership credentials of Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi and says it is only a matter of time when it will be challenged within the party along with that of his mother and party president Sonia Gandhi.

Rahul is a reluctant politician like his father Rajiv Gandhi and has his “limitations” as he has not been groomed for the job unlike his father whom Indira Gandhi herself groomed, says veteran Congress leader ML Fotedar in his yet to be released book “The Chinar Leaves”.

Fotedar, who rose to become a Union Minister, also makes critical remarks about Sonia saying despite her many virtues, political management is not one of them and her obsession to promote Rahul further created problems in the party.

Amid a raging debate on when Rahul would take over the reins of Congress, Fotedar, in the HarperCollins publication, says Rahul had “certain stubbornness” and his motivation to become a leader was “not very strong”.

“Rahul Gandhi’s leadership is unacceptable to the people of this country and Sonia Gandhi has her best years behind her. The party has no one to provide direction. It refuses to learn.

“It has made wrong choices while appointing opposition leaders in both Houses of Parliament. It has made wrong choices about how to deal with the challenges in the Assembly elections. In fact, there is nothing right which the party has done or is doing. It saddens me that the Nehru?Indira legacy has reached a cul-de-sac,” he said.

He goes on to add that “Since Soniaji still is the unchallenged leader of the party, it should be her responsibility to reinvent the party. Blaming Rahul in a way is shifting the blame from the Congress president to someone who has yet to display his leadership skills.

“History is threatening to repeat itself. It is a matter of time before Soniaji’s and Rahul’s leadership is challenged from within the party. I will be observing closely how they stand up to this looming challenge, because Sonia is not Indira and Rahul is not Sanjay,” the Congress leader said.

On Sonia, the former Nehru-Gandhi family loyalist said she will go down in history as the longest serving Congress president “even if not the most distinguished”.