27 years on, six Punjab Police personnel convicted of abducting, killing Tarn Taran-based Baba Charan Singh, five others of family

Baba Charan Singh, and five other relatives, including nephew Balwinder Singh, who was a constable with Punjab Police, and his father, Gurmej Singh, were abducted by the police from different places in April 1993 and later shown to have escaped from custody

 Twenty-seven years after Tarn Taran-based religious leader Baba Charan Singh and five of his family members went missing under mysterious circumstances, a Mohali court on Thursday convicted six Punjab Police personnel of their abduction and murder.

Tarn Taran-based Baba Charan Singh, who was in-charge of (HT file photos)

Those convicted are inspector Suba Singh, assistant sub inspector (ASI) Sauba Singh, head constable (HC) Lakha Singh, and sub inspectors (SI) Bikramjit Singh, Sukhdev Singh and Sukdev Raj Joshi.

The court acquitted deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Gurmit Singh Randhawa, inspector Kashmir Singh and SI Nirmal Singh.

Seven policemen, including senior superintendent of police Ajit Singh Sandhu, died during the trial.

The case was transferred to the CBI in 1997 after Surjit Kaur, the wife of Baba Charan Singh, moved the Punjab and Haryana high court.

She said her husband, Baba Charan Singh, and five other relatives, including nephew Balwinder Singh, who was a constable with Punjab Police, and his father, Gurmej Singh, were abducted by the police from different places in April 1993 and later shown to have escaped from custody.

Baba Charan Singh was in-charge of kar seva (voluntary service) at 35 gurdwaras in Punjab. His responsibilities included maintenance and construction at these gurdwaras.