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HC decision to transfer case to CBI reignites hope, says Col Bath’s wife
Jasvinder Kaur says she’s exhausted, but fight for justice will continue; alleges family was approached to strike compromise.
After the Punjab and Haryana high court on Wednesday transferred the probe into the alleged assault of Colonel Pushpinder Singh Bath by Punjab Police personnel over a parking dispute in Patiala on March 13 to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), his wife, Jasvinder Kaur Bath, said the decision has once again given the family hope for justice.
Expressing hope that the CBI would conduct a fair probe, Jasvinder, who has been spearheading the fight for justice for her husband since March, said: “I’m exhausted, but the fight for justice will continue. The high court order of transferring the probe from Chandigarh Police to the CBI has reignited hope for justice. This case shows how difficult it is to get justice when you are fighting against the police. This is not my fight alone for my husband. This is also a fight for the mothers of innocent youngsters who have been victim of police excesses.”
On the probe conducted by Chandigarh Police SP Manjeet Sheoran-led special investigation team, Jasvinder said initially it appeared the SIT was working impartially as it had opposed the anticipatory bail by one of the accused inspectors, Ronnie Singh, and had conducted raids to arrest the absconders.
“Initially, I had hopes that Chandigarh Police would conduct a fair probe. Unfortunately, Chandigarh Police like Punjab Police tried to shield the four accused inspectors by not arresting them, and trying to quash the non-bailable sections from the first information report (FIR). Eventually, the case has been transferred to the CBI – which was our primary demand when we moved the high court three months ago,” she said.
Jasvinder alleged that it appeared that the accused cops had managed to influence the Chandigarh Police SIT after they failed to strike a compromise with the Bath family. “When the case was transferred to Chandigarh Police by the high court, people approached us to strike a compromise. We refused. Thereafter, it seems the accused cops managed to influence Chandigarh Police officials investigating the case. The SIT made no arrest in three months,” she said.
Jasvinder said the fight for justice would continue despite the challenges and she was ready to approach the Supreme Court if required.
