Trouble mounts for ex-DGP Saini as SIT gets more time to arrest him

Teams sent to arrest him; Z-plus protectee has gone underground, shunning his security

With a second judge of the Punjab and Haryana high court recusing himself from hearing the anticipatory bail plea of ex-DGP Sumedh Singh Saini in a 32-year-old case of the disappearance of Mohali resident Balwinder Singh Multani, the retired top cop is facing the biggest challenge of his life. The Special Investigating Team (SIT) is also making fresh efforts to arrest him.

Former Punjab DGP Sumedh Singh Saini

Over the past few days, the SIT has conducted raids across different states, including Saini’s ancestral farm house in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh. He has evaded arrest and the SIT is clueless about his movements.

The high court is yet to fix the next date of hearing for his anticipatory bail, but it has given more time to SIT to nab Saini. The SIT has consistently maintained that his custodial interrogation in the case is a must.

A senior police functionary, monitoring the case, said special teams have been sent to at least ten locations to arrest Saini, including Delhi. “There is immense pressure on the SIT to arrest Saini,” admitted the police functionary.

Punjab Police personnel sitting behind Saini residence in Sector 20, Chandigarh, on Friday. (Ravi Kumar/HT)

Uneasy calm outside Saini’s residence

Holding Z-plus security, Saini has been underground for days, with an uneasy calm prevailing outside his private house in Sector 20. An HT team found a jammer vehicle stationed outside the house, with CRPF personnel standing guard. A few Punjab Police personnel, in civvies, were also found guarding the gate, but they refused to come on record. The entire Saini family is said to have gone underground for over the past two weeks at least. On Thursday, however, Saini’s wife had written a letter to the Punjab DGP and the chief secretary claiming that the security of her husband had been withdrawn.

The government, however, denied the charges immediately and termed it as a tactic of the Saini family to divert attention from the case, as the high court was to listen to the ex-DGP’s bail plea on Friday.