E-Paper
Amandeep murder case: 2 police officials acquitted
The then SSP Manohar Singh and Gandhi Nagar police station’s SHO Sultan Mirza were both acquitted in the murder case by second additional sessions judge Jammu Virender Singh Bhau
After 11 years of trial, a local court on Monday acquitted two police officers allegedly involved in the fudging of evidence in murder case of son of a National Conference politician, was shot dead in Jammu’s Shastri Nagar in 2009.
The then senior superintendent of police (SSP) Manohar Singh and Gandhi Nagar police station’s SHO Sultan Mirza were both acquitted in the murder case by second additional sessions judge Jammu Virender Singh Bhau.
The deceased, Amandeep Singh, son of former NC MLA Deepinder Kour was shot dead in Shastri Nagar on August 29, 2009 outside his residence.
A third policeman, sub-inspector Satnam Singh, who died during trial, was also acquitted.
Jatinder Singh alias Raja, son of a government contractor Choudhary Nagar Singh aka Nago, was the prime suspect in the case but he also died under mysterious circumstances in Udhampur jail in 2017.
However, the court held Jatinder Singh alias Raja, and another suspect, Royal Singh, guilty for murder. While Raja died in Udhampur prison during trial, court awarded life sentence to Royal Singh.
The judge in his lengthy 178 page verdict was furious over the ‘botched up’ investigations.
“This Court has no hesitation to observe and say that investigators while conducting proceedings and collecting evidence have acted as if they were writing script of a movie and were conducting shooting of a suspense movie and, thus, indulgence in twisting of true facts and use of false facts to convince and persuade this Court to come to false conclusion cannot be ruled out and, thus, this Court cannot resist to observe and place on record the conduct, behaviour and role of the investigators and sound a note of caution for all the investigators, who are in service to be attentive, vigilant, careful, fair and professional in their dealings in future lest they should be put to task for their wrong doings,” observed the judge.
“Further, prosecution has miserably failed to prove the relevant facts leading to the occurrence and role played by other accused persons in conspiracy of swapping of alleged weapon of offence to screen the main accused and also for changing the bullet during investigation on the basis of evidence, which is conflicting, contradictory and suffers from factual gaps, loopholes and missing links, beyond reasonable shadow of doubt, so the benefit of doubt goes to accused, namely, Nagar Singh, Jagar Singh, Rakesh Singh, Manohar Singh, Sultan Mehmood Mirza and S.H. Bukhari. Resultantly, the challan (charge sheet) against these accused fails and is accordingly dismissed so far it pertains to these accused persons.
He further directed that DGP, UT of Jammu and Kashmir is notified regarding this observation of the Court to seek an explanation from all the investigators, who are in service regarding lapses and gaps left in the case.