The Punjab and Haryana high court on Friday sought a response from the Punjab government and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on a plea moved by a couple from Ludhiana seeking an independent probe into a March 13 encounter by the Punjab police.
The high court bench of justice Sanjiv Berry has sought a response by July 17 on the plea from the parents of the 22-year-old, who was killed in that encounter.
Notably, some of the cops who carried out this encounter are facing allegations of assaulting Colonel Pushpinder Singh Bath on the intervening night of March 13-14 in Patiala. The delay in the registration of FIR and mishandling of the case resulted in widespread criticism of the state government as well as police in the state. The probe into the assault case has been transferred to Chandigarh Police by the high court.
As per the plea of Baljit Kaur and Lakhwinder Singh, their son, Jaspreet Singh, has been living in Canada since October 2022 and returned to India days before he was killed in the encounter on March 13.
As per the plea, Jaspreet was accused of kidnapping a seven-year-old child of a distant relative, leading to registration of an FIR on March 13. A police party followed a white vehicle believed to be carrying the kidnapped child. Upon being signalled to stop, the vehicle allegedly sped away, leading to a chase, and an encounter took place in which Jaspreet Singh was shot, police had claimed.
{{/usCountry}}As per the plea, Jaspreet was accused of kidnapping a seven-year-old child of a distant relative, leading to registration of an FIR on March 13. A police party followed a white vehicle believed to be carrying the kidnapped child. Upon being signalled to stop, the vehicle allegedly sped away, leading to a chase, and an encounter took place in which Jaspreet Singh was shot, police had claimed.
{{/usCountry}}However, their counsel, Navkiran Singh, had argued that the post-mortem report of Jaspreet revealed seven bullet injuries on his body, including three with ‘tattooing’ – a sign of close-range firing.
One of the injuries, bearing tattooing, was located on the forehead, indicating that the youth was shot at point-blank range, the counsel submitted before the court.
The plea says the police officials involved in the encounter were lauded by their superiors and reportedly rewarded with promotions and monetary incentives. The plea further added that the petitioners do not expect a fair probe in this matter if entrusted to Punjab police. The counsel told the court that the petitioners have no faith in a police-led investigation, and hence, a time-bound probe be ordered, and the investigation be handed over to the CBI.