The Shiromani Akali Dal on Thursday demanded a judicial probe into reports that the ruling Congress has placed intelligence wing of the Punjab Police at the disposal of a private company, Movedek Politico.

Addressing a Press conference, an advisor to the SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal, Harcharan Bains said there are credible reports that the highest-ranked police officers of the state were asked to collaborate with the private company in intelligence gathering. The intelligence officers were asked to report not to the state home minister, home secretary or the director-general of police but to Movedek Politco.

Bains said this had brought about “the most unprecedented and dangerous collapse of the ” law and order machinery in the state. When the police especially its intelligence wing was bogged down in gathering information to blackmail and arm-twist the workers and potential candidates opposed to the Chief Minister and the ruling party, peace and communal harmony in Punjab was left at the mercy of God, he added.

“During this time, the state witnessed a sudden upsurge in shocking incidents of sacrilege, bomb blasts and other shocking incidents violence. The breach of the Prime Minister’s security also happened during this period only,” Bains said. He claimed a proforma was circulated among intelligence officials from the highest right down to the lowest ranks by the said company and they were asked to share intelligence on the website of the company. This he said was a shocking compromise on the constitutional and legal processes.

Bains said that the party demands a judicial probe by a sitting judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court into this sordid and dangerous saga which put peace in Punjab and security of the country at stake He said this apart, the party would also take the matter to the Election Commission as this was a grave violation of the process of free and fair poll in the state.

Bains asked Chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi and the state home minister Sukhjider Singh Randhawa to come clean on reports that a meeting of the highest-ranked officers of the intelligence wing of the police took place on 1 December 2021 to analyse the feedback on the intelligence gathered till then and to give further instructions to the rank and file of the department to work in tandem with and on instructions of the private company.