1994 fake encounter, victim’s disappearance intricately linked: SIT

The SIT was constituted on a 2013 plea of Dalbir Kaur whose husband Sukhpal Singh was killed allegedly in a fake encounter by Punjab Police

A Punjab Police special investigation team (SIT) constituted by the Punjab and Haryana high court to probe a 1994 alleged fake encounter case has told the court that disappearance of one Sukhpal Singh of Gurdaspur and the fake encounter in which cops role are being probed are ‘intricately linked’.

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The SIT led by DGP (PSPCL) Siddharth Chattopadhyaya is probing allegations of fake encounter against inspector general of police Paramraj Singh Umranangal, among others.

The SIT was constituted on a 2013 plea of Dalbir Kaur whose husband Sukhpal Singh was killed allegedly in a fake encounter by Punjab Police. Allegations are that police team led by Umranangal stage-managed the encounter in which Kaur’s husband was killed, but dreaded terrorist Gurman Singh Bandala was shown as killed. Later, Bandala was found alive.

The SIT told court that it has recorded statement of Kaur and also that of Bandala. Based on the probe, it has been found that Bandala is alive and was arrested in 1998 in some other case.

The SIT is now demanding that it be allowed further probe both in the FIRs of 1994 on disappearance of Sukhpal Singh and 2016 FIRs of alleged fake encounter.

While the Batala police told the SIT that an untraced report was filed in 1994 before a Ropar court which was accepted in 1995. The record was destroyed in 2002, the HC was told. But the Ropar court in a communication to the SIT stated that there was no such case pending and no such case was confined to the record room of the court. In view of this, the SIT has now asked for court’s permission to probe the matter.