E-Paper
Police book family after Jalandhar youth dies in raid, magisterial probe ordered
Magisterial probe ordered into death of 22-year-old Lovepreet Singh in Jalandhar village; family protests outside Mehatpur police station.
A day after a 22-year-old man was shot dead during a police raid, the Jalandhar Rural Police booked his family members on charges of attempt to murder and obstructing public servants from discharging their duty.
The deceased, Lovepreet Singh, who suffered two gunshots to the waist and thigh, succumbed at the Nakodar civil hospital.
The incident happened in Bangiwal village of Jalandhar district on Friday evening when a police team led by Mehatpur station house officer (SHO) Aman Saini conducted a raid at the house of Lovepreet, who was evading arrest in an attempt to murder case registered in January this year.
The family members, accompanied by farmer organisations and Left union activists, staged a protest outside the Mehatpur police station on Saturday, seeking criminal action against the SHO and the subordinates who accompanied him during the raid.
Firing on spur of moment: SSP
Addressing a press conference in Jalandhar, senior superintendent of police (SSP) Harvinder Singh Virk reiterated that the whole incident occurred in the spur of the moment in self-defence after the police team faced strong confrontation from Lovepreet and his family members, who assaulted them with sharp-edged weapons and sticks.
Virk said according to the standard operating procedure, a magisterial probe had been ordered under which Lovepreet’s post-mortem will be carried out by a board of doctors under the supervision of a magistrate-level officer.
“The probe will be supervised by superintendent of police (SP, Investigation) Vineet Ahlawat, who will conduct a thorough investigation from all angles,” the SSP said.
Taking serious note of the incident, police booked Lovepreet, his mother Kuldeep Kaur, sister Gagandeep Kaur and four unidentified persons for assaulting police personnel and obstructing them in performing their duty.
The case has been registered under several sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including Section 109 for attempt to murder, Section 121 (1) for voluntarily causing hurt to deter a public servant, Section 131 for provocation, Section 132 for criminal force to deter a public servant, Section 191 (2) for rioting, Section 221 for obstructing a public servant, Section 224 for threat of injury to a public servant and Section 351 for criminal intimidation, alongside other sections of the Arms Act and Section 63 of the Punjab Police Act.
The SSP said preliminary investigation showed Lovepreet and his family members, along with unidentified persons, assaulted SHO Aman Saini and ASI Sukhwant Singh, who were part of the raiding team.
The violent crowd also attacked senior constable Sukhwinder Singh with sharp-edged weapons, intending to cause grievous injury.
During the incident, an unidentified person from the crowd allegedly fired a gunshot. To safeguard his life and secure his government-issued weapon, Sukhwinder initially fired one round in the air, but the attackers did not retreat.
During the confrontation, Lovepreet attempted to snatch the government weapon. Considering the grave situation, two rounds were fired in response, hitting Lovepreet in the waist and thigh, the SSP said.
SP Vineet Ahlawat said forensic teams had collected all evidence, including empty cartridges from the spot.
Family counters police stand
Lovepreet’s family alleged that the police personnel first opened fire in the air, triggering panic and chaos.
His uncle Jaswant Singh said Lovepreet was in the washroom when the police team barged into the house, broke the washroom gate and started hitting him. The family resisted, to which the senior constable opened fire at Lovepreet.
He said the family demanded a thorough probe into the matter and that the SHO of Mehatpur police station and the entire raiding team must be suspended for a fair investigation.
The family said there were serious concerns over the professional conduct of the police and maintained that they were not armed with any life-taking weapons.
Locals videographed the whole incident in which Lovepreet and his family could be seen countering the police party before he was shot and lying unconscious in his mother’s lap. In one of the videos, two female family members could be seen confronting SHO Aman after Lovepreet was shot.
Meanwhile, police claimed that Lovepreet’s family had a criminal background, noting that besides four FIRs of drug smuggling and violence against Lovepreet, his sister Gagandeep faced four FIRs, while his brother Mandeep Singh had six criminal cases registered against him.
