Fake encounters: HC dismisses PIL for CBI probe

The Punjab and Haryana high court on Tuesday refused to entertain a petition seeking the arrest of suspended Tarn Taran sub-inspector Surjit Singh who had confessed to killing about 83 persons in fake encounters in Punjab during the days of militancy and compensation to the victims' families.

The Punjab and Haryana high court on Tuesday refused to entertain a petition seeking the arrest of suspended Tarn Taran sub-inspector Surjit Singh who had confessed to killing about 83 persons in fake encounters in Punjab during the days of militancy and compensation to the victims' families.

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When the petition filed by Jalandhar resident Shashi Sharma, seeking a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), came up for hearing before the division bench headed by chief justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, the court also observed that people should not resort to filing of petitions merely on the basis of media reports.

The petitioner had informed the court that on June 29, Surjit Singh had told mediapersons that he had killed 83 people in encounters, a few of them fake, during the era of militancy and he was immediately suspended by the senior superintendent of police (SSP), Tarn Taran. The petitioner had also attached various reports published in this regard in newspapers and posted on news websites.

The petitioner had mentioned that in order to find out the truth of fake encounters for unearthing the involvement of higher police officers, as claimed by Surjit Singh, it was necessary to entrust the probe to the CBI.

The high court had on Monday dismissed the petition filed by Surjit Singh on the same issue, also seeking protection for himself and his family members from senior police officers. The HC had said that the suspended sub-inspector should have approached his senior police officers rather than directly coming to the court.