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Ex-SSP, DSP among 5 cops get life term in 32-yr-old fake encounter case
The court of CBI special judge Baljinder Singh Sra also imposed a fine of ₹3 lakh on each of the convict.
A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court on Monday sentenced five retired police officials to rigorous life imprisonment in a 1993 fake encounter of seven youths of a Tarn Taran village and described their conduct “morally bankrupt and profoundly inhumane”. The court of CBI special judge Baljinder Singh Sra also imposed a fine of ₹3 lakh on each of the convict.
The court had found them guilty of criminal conspiracy, murder and destruction of evidence under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code on August 1.
The case involved abduction, illegal detention, custodial torture and staged killings of seven youths — including three special police officers (SPOs) — from Rani Willa village in Tarn Taran district.
The then deputy superintendent of police Bhupinderjit Singh (61), who later retired as SSP, the then assistant sub-inspector Devinder Singh (58), who retired as DSP, the then assistant sub-inspector Gulabarg Singh (72), the then Inspector Suba Singh (83) and the then ASI Raghbir Singh (63) have been sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for life. They were sentenced to life imprisonment under Section 302 (murder) of IPC along with a ₹2-lakh fine, three-year rigorous imprisonment under Section 120B (criminal conspiracy) read with Section 201 (disappearance of evidence) with a ₹50,000 fine, and three-year rigorous imprisonment under Section 120B read with Section 218 with an additional ₹50,000 fine.
“The families waited 32 years for this day. Justice has been delayed, but not denied,” said victims’ counsel Sarabjeet Singh Verka.
Five other accused police officials -- the then Inspector Gurdev Singh, the then sub-inspector Gian Chand, then ASI Jagir Singh and then head constables Mohinder Singh and Aroor Singh passed away during the trial.
“Upon consideration of the rival contentions, this court is of the view that there is no doubt regarding the sheer venality and callousness with which the convicts acted, reflecting an utter disregard for human dignity and life. Their conduct was not only unlawful, it was morally bankrupt and profoundly inhumane,” the court said in its order.
“However, in view of their advanced age and the prolonged agony endured during the course of the trial over many years, this court refrains from awarding the capital punishment,” it said.
The court said Dr BR Ambedkar, the chief architect of the Indian Constitution, once said, “Rights are protected not by laws but by the social and moral conscience of society”. Regrettably, this moral consciousness has yet to be fully absorbed and reflected in the institutions of governance entrusted with the protection of people’s rights, said the order.
The court said it can very well imagine the plight of their parents and family members who were running from pillar to post since the year 1993 to seek justice.
CBI prosecutor Anmol Narang detailed how the victims were abducted falsely implicated in a robbery case. According to the CBI investigation, the chain of events began on June 27, 1993, when a police team led by Sarhali station house officer inspector Gurdev Singh abducted SPO Shinder Singh and others from the residence of contractor Joginder Singh. They were taken to Sarhali police station where they were tortured and falsely implicated in a robbery case.
Subsequently, on July 2, 1993, police lodged a fake FIR claiming that Shinder and the others had absconded with government-issued weapons. Ten days later on July 12, a police party led by then DSP Bhupinderjit and inspector Gurdev staged a fake encounter. The police claimed that the victims were killed in crossfire while attempting to recover stolen arms from “terrorists”. The bodies were cremated as “unclaimed”, despite being identified by ASIs Gulabarg and Davinder.
Autopsy revealed signs of severe torture prior to death, and forensic analysis of the seized arms pointed to serious discrepancies, according to the probe.
On July 28, 1993, three more abducted individuals — Sukhdev Singh, Sarabjit Singh, and Harvinder Singh — were reportedly killed in a second staged encounter by the Verowal police.
According to investigators, fake recoveries and fabricated documents were used to justify these killings as anti-terror operations.
The court said both the encounters were conducted under the supervision of then DSP Bhupinderjit Singh and other convicts were part of the police team.
The case was handed over to the CBI following a Supreme Court directive on December 12, 1996, in connection with the mass cremation of unidentified bodies in Punjab. A preliminary inquiry began in 1997 and a formal case was registered in 1999 based on the testimony of Narinder Kaur, wife of Shinder Singh.
Staged killings: Blot on khaki
July 12, 2025: CBI court awards 10-year jail to former Beas SHO Paramjit Singh in a 32-year-old fake encounter case in which two constables — Surmukh Singh and Sukhwinder Singh --- were killed
May 31: Three Punjab Police officers convicted in 1993 Kapurthala fake encounter case in which two men were killed. Manjit Singh, the then inspector, gets 8-year jail under separate IPC sections. Gurmej Singh, the then SI, also awarded 8-year sentence while Karamjit Singh, the then ASI gets 3-year jail
March 6: A special CBI court sentences former Punjab Police DIG Dilbagh Singh to 7-year RI, and former DSP Gurbachan Singh to life term in a 1993 Tarn Taran fake encounter case involving killing of two civilians
Feb 4: Former SHO Gurbhinder Singh and ex-ASI ASI Purshotam Singh get life imprisonment in a 1992 fake encounter in Majitha, Amritsar, where two persons were killed
Emotions run high in courtroom
Mohali Emotional scenes played out in the CBI court on Monday as family members of the seven victims killed in the 1993 Tarn Taran fake encounters broke down upon hearing the long-awaited verdict. Many of them had been waging a relentless battle for justice over three decades.
“We had been waiting for this moment of justice,” said Gurmeet Kaur, 60, wife of deceased cop Sukhdev Singh while holding a faded photograph of her slain husband.
Three of the seven victims—Shinder Singh, Sukhdev Singh, and Desa Singh—were serving as special police officers (SPOs) with Punjab Police when they were abducted, tortured, and murdered by their own colleagues. “The irony is chilling. They died wearing the same uniform as their killers,” said Sarabjit Singh Verka, counsel for the victims.
The kin of victim cops demanded justice beyond the verdict. They appealed to the Punjab government for salary arrears and pensions based on their husbands’ service records. Many also sought compassionate appointments for family members, stating that their families had suffered both emotionally and financially in the aftermath of the killings.
“Our fight isn’t over. The state must now recognise the pain we’ve endured, and the future that was snatched from us,” said Balbir Kaur, sister of deceased SPO Desa Singh.
The families revealed that in the absence of justice all these years, they had not performed the final rites or ‘bhog’ ceremonies of their loved ones.
