The Uttarakhand Congress has requested the Election Commission to remove the state’s Director General of Police Abhinav Kumar from his post, alleging that his “closeness to the ruling party is well known”, The Indian Express reported on Wednesday.

This came days after the poll panel directed the home secretaries in six states, including Uttarakhand, to be transferred ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

In a letter to the poll panel, Congress’ Uttarakhand chief Karan Mahara said that the police play an important role during an election and that the “loyalty of the present DGP of the state to the ruling party” raises questions about the fairness of the impending polls.

“I would like to inform you [the Election Commission] that the present DGP of Uttarakhand state, Abhinav Kumar, before becoming the DGP, had been posted as Principal Secretary to the present Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and his closeness to the ruling party is well known,” the newspaper quoted Mahara as having written in the letter.

Mahara highlighted the Uttarakhand Police’s investigation in the Ankita Bhandari murder case, in which the son of a Bharatiya Janata Party leader is the main accused person.

“The investigation of Ankita Bhandari’s heinous murder case is still going on but the statement of the current DGP regarding the investigation, in which he has been found defending the government like the spokesperson of the ruling party, is against the dignity of his current post,” Mahara said.

Earlier this month, the Congress had criticised the police’s arrest of independent journalist Ashutosh Negi, calling it an attempt by the state’s Bharatiya Janata Party government to “suppress the voice of the common man”.

The police had cited Negi’s allegedly “provocative statements” about the Ankita Bhandari murder case as a reason for his arrest.

Responding to the Congress’ allegations, the state’s director general of police had told reporters at the time that Negi was arrested for allegedly trying to foment public distrust in the police’s investigation of the murder.

“Those making unrestrained allegations against the police and government regarding Negi’s arrest are either driven by emotions or have personal agendas,” The Indian Express quoted Kumar as saying at the time. “There was no undue pressure on the Uttarakhand Police during the investigation of the Pauri Garhwal receptionist murder case.”

Responding to Kumar’s statement, Mahara said that it “seemed as if the spokesperson of BJP was speaking and not the director general of police of the state”.

On March 16, the Election Commission announced that the 2024 Lok Sabha elections will be held in seven phases from April 19 to June 1. The results will be announced on June 4.

All five Lok Sabha constituencies in Uttarakhand will vote in the first phase of the polls on April 19.

The poll body had earlier directed state governments to transfer officers who have been working in connection with the general elections, who have completed a term of three years in their post or are working in their home districts.

On Tuesday, senior Indian Administrative Services officer Dilip Jawalkar replaced Shailesh Bagoli as the home secretary of Uttarakhand on the Election Commission’s orders. Jawalkar was picked from a panel of three names submitted to the poll body.