Punjab polls: Former state police officer among 30 candidates announced by AAP

Chandigarh: Former Punjab Police officer Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh, who had headed the SIT probing the 2015 Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan firing cases, is among the list of 30 candidates released by the Aam Aadmi Party on Friday for the upcoming Punjab Assembly polls. This is the second list of candidates announced by the AAP. Earlier, the party had announced 10 candidates who are all sitting legislators.

Singh has been given a ticket from the Amritsar North seat. He had taken voluntary retirement in April this year and later joined the AAP.

Singh, who was the Inspector General of Police, had tendered his resignation after the Punjab and Haryana High Court had quashed the probe by the SIT into the 2015 Kotkapura firing incident.

Punjabi singer Anmol Gagan Mann will contest from Kharar seat while Balkar Singh Sidhu will fight polls from Rampura Phul seat.

Raman Bahl, who quit the Congress last month and joined the AAP, has been given ticket from Gurdaspur seat while Jagroop Singh Sekhwan, son of former Punjab minister Sewa Singh Sekhwan, will contest from Qadian. Sewa Singh Sekhwan had died in October.

Vibhuti Sharma has been given ticket from Pathankot, Shamsher Singh from Dina Nagar (SC), Sherry Kalsi from Batala, Balbir Singh Pannu from Fatehgarh Churian, Inderbir Singh Nijjar from Amritsar South, Laljit Singh Bhullar from Patti, Balkar Singh from Kartarpur (SC), Ravjot Singh from Sham Chaurasi (SC), Lalit Mohan from Nawan Shahr and Daljit Singh from Ludhiana East.

Kulwant Singh Sidhu will fight from Atam Nagar, Manwinder Singh from Payal (SC), Naresh Kataria from Zira, Jagdeep Singh from Muktsar, Gurdit Singh Sekhon from Faridkot, Neena Mittal from Rajpura, Harmeet Singh from Sanour, Chetan Singh from Samana and Madan Lal Bagga from Ludhiana North

Meanwhile, the AAP on Friday said it will give Rs 25,000 reward to Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi for every illegal sand mining case he acts against, a day after he announced an equal cash award for reporting the crime to the authorities.

Addressing an online press conference, AAP spokesperson and co-in charge of the party's affairs in Punjab Raghav Chadha termed Channi's announcement "mere drama to fool people of the state".