By Raakhi Jagga
Expressing solidarity with protesting farmers, a serving officer of the Punjab police resigned from his post on Saturday. Lakhminder Singh Jakhar, who was posted as Deputy Inspector General (DIG), Prisons, in Chandigarh said he resigned on Saturday. “I have completed all the formalities and hence, I don’t think that there will be any hassle in accepting my resignation,” he said.
Jakhar was suspended in May over graft charges. The 56-year-old officer was, however, reinstated two months ago.
In his resignation letter, Jakhar offered ‘to deposit three months’ salary of notice period and other arrears as well, so that he can be relieved at the earliest.’
“I am a farmer first and a police officer later. Whatever position I have got today, it is because my father worked as a farmer in the fields and he made me study. Hence, I owe my everything to farming,” Jakhar said.
He served as a Captain in the 14 Punjab (Nabha Akal) regiment as short service commission officer from 1989- 1994 and later joined the Punjab police.
Parveen Kumar Sinha, Assistant Director General of Police, Jails, said Jakhar has submitted his resignation to the Principal Secretary (Prisons), DK Tiwari. “He was reinstated about 2 months ago and was currently posted at Chandigarh headquarters,” Sinha said.
Jakhar said his 81-year-old mother does farming and ‘supervises the entire farming operations in the village’. “I could not look into her eyes, when she asked me what was my opinion of our farmer brothers and sisters braving the cold in Delhi since November 26 while they had been on roads in Punjab as well since mid-September,” Jakhar said.
In 2012, Jakhar was in the news when he was serving as Patiala Jail superintendent and had returned the death warrants of Balwant Singh Rajona, the prime accused convicted for the assassination of former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh.
In September, Jakhar had posted a picture standing on standing in his fields in Killianwali village with a message ` I am a farmer. I support the farmers from my heart.’ ( Indian Express )
