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Punjab: Custodial death: Court to hear case against 5 Bathinda cops on July 31
Hearing their petition on July 11, the additional sessions judge, Rajiv Kalra stated that “the applicants are not found to be entitled for benefit of anticipatory bail in the light of serious allegations levelled against them for custodial death of an innocent person.”
A Bathinda court will hear on July 31 a case against five police personnel accused of fabricating a custodial death as a drowning incident.
The case, heard on Tuesday by civil judge (junior division) Rasveen Kaur, involves inspector Navpreet Singh, the then head of Bathinda CIA-1, head constable Rajwinder Singh and three constables— Gaganpreet Singh, Harjeet Singh and Jaswinder Singh.
A fact-finding report filed on February 18 this year by then judicial magistrate (first class) Kuldeep Singh indicted the five for allegedly torturing a man to death in illegal custody and covering it up as drowning. Based on this report, the district court ordered them to stand trial for culpable homicide, causing disappearance of evidence and other offences.
Four of the accused—Navpreet, Rajwinder, Harjeet and Jaswinder—had filed for an anticipatory bail in the local court but it was rejected. Hearing their petition on July 11, the additional sessions judge, Rajiv Kalra stated that “the applicants are not found to be entitled for benefit of anticipatory bail in the light of serious allegations levelled against them for custodial death of an innocent person.”
The accused had earlier challenged their summoning in the Punjab and Haryana high court, but their plea was dismissed on July 1, lifting an interim stay on proceedings.
Since February, the district court has summoned the accused twice and issued arrest warrants four times, but police have failed to produce them in court.
A judicial inquiry was initiated after the deceased’s brother, Satnam Singh—then lodged in Ferozepur Central Jail—wrote to the sessions judge in October 2023 alleging his brother’s illegal detention, custodial torture and death. His complaint led to the judicial probe that indicted the accused.
