E-Paper
Celebratory firing: HC slams Punjab Police probe in 2016 case
A 24-year-old orchestra dancer was shot dead in celebratory firing while she was performing on the stage at a marriage palace in Bathinda’s Maur Mandi town on December 3, 2016
The Punjab and Haryana high court has come down heavily on the role of Punjab Police personnel in the investigation into the Bathinda celebratory firing case that claimed a woman dancer’s life during a wedding in 2016.
The high court (HC) bench of justice Manoj Bajaj ordered that charges in the case be framed afresh and steps be taken to conclude the trial within six months. The court also sent a copy of the judgment to the Punjab chief secretary and director general of police for further action.
The tragic death of 24-year-old orchestra dancer Kulvinder Kaur, who was shot dead while performing on the dance floor at a marriage palace in Bathinda’s Maur Mandi town on December 3, 2016, had hit national headlines after a live video of the incident surfaced. Even the HC had issued a slew of directions, taking note of the unfortunate death owing to celebratory firing.
The FIR was registered on the charges of murder and under the Arms Act. However, the challan was filed for culpable homicide not amounting to murder against one Lucky Kumar, alias Billa, and Sanjay Goyal. The victim’s mother, who petitioned that charges be framed for murder, died while the matter was pending.
The court observed that a close scrutiny of a report filed on the probe shows that though the investigating officer mentioned that the accused had fired a shot, the occurrence was described as accidental. Prima facie, the firing by the accused was without any excuse, and was so imminently dangerous that in all probabilities it carried a risk of causing death or such injury to other persons present there, it recorded.
The court further observed that instead of carrying out a pragmatic and meaningful investigation, the superintendent of police (SP, headquarters) interfered in the probe by illegally entertaining a representation from the accused side, which claimed their innocence. “...this court deems it necessary, to notice once again the trend adopted by senior police officers of state police department, who engage themselves in holding inquiries on the representations on behalf of the accused, to examine their innocence, after registration of FIR and during the pendency of the investigation, and this practice is prevalent largely in the state of Punjab for a long time (sic),” the court recorded, adding that such inquiry reports based on the defence of the accused are often delivered in their favour, and during this exercise, the inquiry officers illegally assume judicial role.
The court further added that through this procedure, the accused persons make an attempt to “dig a secret tunnel to create an escape route” to avoid punishment, as this kind of disintegrated procedure of investigation throws doubts on the prosecution case, and makes it fragile. “The senior officers are well aware of law relating to the investigations, but they deliberately violate the same for extraneous considerations to extend help to the accused by giving favourable reports in their favour, and investigating officer, who is subordinate to such inquiry officer, has no option, but to mould the final report to avoid the wrath of the senior police officer,” the bench said, sending a copy of the judgment to the DGP and chief secretary.
The bench said that it expects the state would take necessary effective steps to bring in order the procedure of investigation, further adding that such practices encourage criminals and give rise to crime. The court also noted that though the Punjab government enjoys power of superintendence upon the police department, but the state too has failed to check this illegal practice.
