Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Sunday urged the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) to order an independent probe into the “brazen loot” of Rs 6.65 crore by a Khanna police team from the residence of a Christian priest, apprehending that this money could be misused by the Congress party and its leaders in the forthcoming parliamentary polls.

“It is of paramount importance to find out where the money trail led...We have reason to believe that this money could find its way into the hands of the Congress party and its leaders and be used to influence voters in the forthcoming parliamentary. Only an independent probe can prevent this and ensure those guilty of this crime are brought to book,” said SAD senior vice-president Daljit Singh Cheema.

Cheema said that the Khanna Police had been exposed by the SIT, which had been appointed to probe the case, but even the SIT could not proceed against the Congress party or its leaders. “As per the latest information, it has been ascertained that two Assistant Sub-Inspectors and a police informer had made off with Rs 6.65 crore and now the police force is looking out for the three accused,” he added.

“It seems very doubtful that two low level police officials could have committed this crime without any political patronage,” he said adding that the SIT was constrained as it reports to the Congress Government and could not explore this angle of inquiry, and that was why, “an independent probe, supervised by the Election Commission, is necessary to get to the bottom of this case”.

He also demanded registration of appropriate cases against all police officers of Khanna police who had tried to give a clean chit to the police force after a Christian priest Father Anthony Madasserry claimed that Rs 16.32 crore had been seized by the Khanna police from his residence but the authorities had only shown a recovery of Rs 9.66 crore only.

An investigation was also demanded by the SAD leader into why the Khanna police had falsely claimed that it seized the money from Doraha when it violated its jurisdiction and seized the money from the priest’s house in Jalandhar.

“Despite it being more than a fortnight since the loot of Rs 6.65 crore from the Christian priest, the State Police is still searching in the dark for the accused who have been identified as their own. It seems the State police have deliberately given time to the accused cops and the police informer to flee,” he said.