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Gangster Lawrence Bishnoi interview: HC questions extension to CIA facility in-charge
The court has also asked Punjab to apprise whether four officers issued show cause notices were given public dealing assignments
The Punjab and Haryana high court has asked the Punjab government to apprise the court by October 15 whether the four officers who have been given show cause notices in connection with the interview of gangster Lawerence Bishnoi have been given posts of public dealing.
The high court bench of justice Anupinder Singh Grewal and justice Lapita Banerji passed the order after it came to light during the hearing that inspector Shiv Kumar, the then in-charge of the CIA staff, Kharar, had retired in the year 2023. However, the affidavit filed by the police indicated that Kumar was in-charge of the CIA staff, Kharar, till January 2024.
“It is disconcerting to believe that an officer, who had superannuated, had been given extension and posted at CIA staff, Kharar,” the bench observed asking the police to clarify as to why he was given extension and posted at CIA staff, Kharar.
As per the SIT probe, one of the interviews was conducted in September 2022 at this facility.
The court was hearing suo motu proceedings initiated by the court while taking a serious view of the two interviews of the gangster aired by a private channel in March 2023 while he was in custody. The proceedings were initiated in November 2023.
In the interviews, the gangster had claimed that he was not involved in the murder case of singer Sidhu Moosewala, who was killed in 2022. He had also hinted at taking revenge from actor Salman Khan for allegedly hunting blackbucks in Rajasthan in 1998.
The interviews were aired on March 14 and March 17, 2023. At the time of the telecast, Bishnoi was in Bathinda jail.
Later a SIT probe, constituted after the high court intervention, found that while one interview was conducted at the CIA facility in Kharar and the second interview took place in Rajasthan.
During the hearing on September 24, the state had told the court that the four officers were issued show cause notices as to why disciplinary proceedings should not be initiated against them for the episode.
As per the SIT, the interview at the CIT facility, Kharar, took place on the intervening night of September 3 and 4 in 2022. While the CIA facility in-charge was Kumar, there were three supervisory officers including then SSP, Mohali, Vivek Sheel Soni (IPS), then SP (investigation), Mohali, Amandeep Brar (PPS), and then DSP (detective), Mohali, Gursher Singh Sandhu (PPS).
The court has also asked the state to explain long stay of the gangster at this facility.
