The SP was shifted out, in a reshuffle of 49 police officers Friday, for reopening a case against Gazi Fakir, the father of Congress MLA from Pokharan Saleh Mohammad, the protesters alleged.

Fakir, 76, was history-sheeted in 1965 for involvement in smuggling, land grab and other illegal activities along the border but his history sheet went missing in 1984. The case has since been closed and reopened thrice. In February this year, the police arrested suspected Pakistani spy Sumar Khan and claimed that he had links with Fakir.

Choudhary was posted in Jaisalmer in February. He served just five months before he was shifted out to Police Training Center in Kishangarh.

Some people alleged that the SP was transferred for going after Fakir but chief minister Ashok Gehlot rubbished the claim.

"In a government circular dated July 14, all SPs were directed to check history-sheets of criminals and reopen cases that have been shut. This has nothing to do with the transfer of the SP in question. If an officer has reopened a history-sheet, he can't be punished for tat, more so since it was the state government that had directed him to do so," Gehlot said.

Saleh Mohammad too rejected the allegation and said the controversy over the transfer was fuelled by the opposition BJP. "The controversy is politically driven. The history-sheet against my father has been closed and reopened thrice since 1965 and we have never interfered. He is a 78 year old man with hearing disability and walks with support. If there is a government directive to reopen all history-sheets, we have nothing to object to," he said. "As for his alleged links with the Pakistani spy, he lived in a neighbouring village and, therefore, we knew each other. We had no idea he was spying for Pakistan."