13, including 11 Punjab ex-cops, get life term for inmate’s murder

The judge handed life term to the convicts under sections 302 and 120-B of IPC apart from imposing a fine of Rs 30,000 each, said public prosecutor Reetu Kumar who had sought death sentence for the convicts.

A court on Monday handed life sentence to 13 people, including 11 ex-policemen, in a 2014 case of kidnapping and murder of a Tarn Taran man who was undergoing a 20-year imprisonment in the Amritsar central jail, a public prosecutor said.

The complaint was filed by victim Bikramjit Singh’s brother Dalbir Singh. Investigation by police revealed that a team, led by inspector Narang, had whisked away Bikramjit to Batala where he was interrogated throughout the night and died in police custody.(Getty Images/Vetta)

Additional district and sessions judge Sandeep Singh Bajwa on Friday held the 13 people guilty under sections 302 (murder), 364 (kidnapping or abducting for murder), 342 (wrongful confinement), and 120-B (criminal conspiracy to commit an offence punishable with death) of IPC.

The judge handed life term to the convicts under sections 302 and 120-B of IPC apart from imposing a fine of Rs 30,000 each, said public prosecutor Reetu Kumar who had sought death sentence for the convicts.

Those awarded life sentence are counter-intelligence wing ex-inspector Narang Singh, ASIs Gulshanbir Singh and Sawinder Singh, and head constables Makhtool Singh, Angrej Singh, Lakhwinder Singh, Randhir Singh and Amandeep Singh Jagjit Singh, Gurpreet Singh and Lakhwinder Singh. The other two persons are Jagtar Singh alias Kansi and Deep Raj, both police informers.

The complaint was filed by victim Bikramjit Singh’s brother Dalbir Singh. Investigation by police revealed that a team, led by inspector Narang, had whisked away Bikramjit to Batala where he was interrogated throughout the night and died in police custody. All accused cops were dismissed from service for their role in the case.

Resident of Tarn Taran’s Algon Kothi village, Bikramjit was convicted of murder of SAD leader Gurdial Singh of the same village in 2002. On May 5, 2014, he was taken to Guru Nanak Dev Hospital for treatment of his back problem. The same day he was taken away by Narang and his team. The next day, Amritsar police booked officials of the intelligence wing for kidnapping Bikramjit.