The Election Commission on Saturday suspended Tarn Taran Senior Superintendent of Police Ravjot Kaur Grewal, three days before the bye-elections for the Assembly seat, The Indian Express reported.

The bye-polls, necessitated by the death of the Aam Aadmi Party MLA in June, will be held on Tuesday, and the results will be announced on Friday.

While the poll body has not cited a reason for Grewal’s suspension, the move came after Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal met the Election Commission-appointed observer and submitted a written complaint alleging misuse of power by the official to help the ruling AAP in Punjab, the Hindustan Times reported.

A delegation of Shiromani Akali Dal leaders had also met the chief electoral officer of Punjab in Chandigarh and submitted a similar complaint, the newspaper reported.

The party has accused Grewal of filing “false” and politically motivated first information reports against its leaders and workers to obstruct their campaigning.

It also alleged that party workers and leaders in Tarn Taran were being “forcibly detained” by police officials ahead of the bye-polls. The party claimed that the administration was targeting its candidate Sukhwinder Kaur Randhawa, her family members and supporters, the Hindustan Times reported.

In his complaint, Badal had also alleged that “surveillance activities” were being carried out on Randhawa and her daughter Kanchanpreet Kaur, claiming...

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