Ludhiana, June 7 -- A day after former cabinet minister and Congress' Ludhiana West candidate Bharat Bhushan Ashu received summons in a Rs.2,400 crore land misuse case, the Punjab government on Friday suspended the senior superintendent of police - SSP, vigilance, Jagatpreet Singh - who had issued the summons.

While the official orders of the Punjab government stated that the SSP was placed under suspension for misconduct and dereliction of duty, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders said he had orchestrated the summons in collusion with Ashu to help the Congress leader gain public sympathy ahead of the bypoll.

The high-stakes Ludhiana West bypoll is scheduled for June 19 in which Ashu is pitted against AAP's Rajya Sabha MP Sanjeev Arora and BJ...