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Ex-Akali MLA Virsa Singh Valtoha acquitted in 1983 Patti doctor murder case
Was facing trial in the case since February 2019 after police presented a supplementary challan against him after 36 years of incident
A court in Tarn Taran on Thursday acquitted former Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) legislator Virsa Singh Valtoha in the case of murder of Patti-based doctor Sudarshan Kumar Trehan in 1983 due to “lack of evidence”.
Valtoha, who remained chief parliamentary secretary in the SAD-BJP government, was facing trial in the case since February 2019 after the police presented a supplementary challan against him after 36 years of the incident.
The development came as relief to the former MLA ahead of the 2022 assembly elections as SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal announced his candidature from the Khemkaran constituency last month.
“The case was heard in the court of additional district and sessions judge Charanjit Singh Arora on Thursday. Five witnesses, including Jaswant Kaur (posted as Tarn Taran superintendent of police at the time of filing supplementary challan), one Sukhjinder Kaur and a doctor who conducted the post-mortem on the victim’s body, were presented in the court. The judge acquitted the former MLA after hearing the arguments from both the sides,” said Valtoha’s counsel JS Dhillon.
Assistant district attorney Ramneet Kaur said, “Many of the witnesses in the case have died. The accused was acquitted as we did not have any eyewitnesses.”
A senior police official said they recently submitted a report about the witnesses in the court. “Many of the witnesses had died while some could not be traced,” he added.
In February 2020, the court of additional sessions judge Paramjit Kaur had asked the Tarn Taran senior superintendent of police (SSP) to submit a report on the witnesses and arrange for those who were alive so that the case may be taken into its logical end.
Dr Trehan was murdered in his clinic at Patti on September 30, 1983. The Akali leader was named as one of the accused in the case after one Hardev Singh purportedly told the police a year later that he, Valtoha and another person were behind the murder.
Valtoha got bail in the case in February 1991, but the police never presented a supplementary chargesheet against him. He had been claiming that the court concerned had discharged him from the case.
The other accused, Hardev and Baldev Singh, were acquitted in November 1990.
Terming the judgment as a “victory of truth”, Valtoha said, “It was a deep-rooted conspiracy by chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh to present the chargesheet against me in the case in which I was discharged in 1991. It was a bid to destroy my political career.”
He claimed that he was falsely implicated in the case, alleging “political vendetta”.
Case Timeline
Sept 30, 1983: Dr Sudarshan Kumar Trehan murdered in his clinic in Tarn Taran district’s Patti town. An FIR registered against unidentified persons.
1984: Police take in custody Hardev Singh who said he, Valtoha and one Baldev Singh were behind Dr Trehan’s murder.
Nov 1990: Hardev and Baldev Singh acquitted in the case.
Feb 1991: Valtoha gets bail in the case.
Feb 2019: Police present supplementary chargesheet against Valtoha in court on the basis of a plea by a human rights organisation.
Feb 2020: Court asks police to submit status report on witnesses.
Sept 2020: Supreme Court expresses shock over long pendency of the case; directs state government to submit reply as to why this case was dragging for so long.
April 7, 2021: No witness produced in court against Valtoha and the matter was adjourned to April 15.
