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Retired IPS officer, 2 other Punjab cops get 3-year jail in 1992 disappearance case
A special CBI court convicted three Punjab Police officials, including a retired IPS officer, while acquitting five others in a case of kidnapping and disappearance that dates back to 1992
A special CBI court on Friday convicted and awarded three-year jail term to three Punjab Police officials, including a retired IPS officer, while acquitting five others in a case of kidnapping and disappearance that dates back to 1992.
The trio has been identified as Balkar Singh (62), who retired as the inspector general, Special Task Force (STF), Punjab, Udham Singh (75) and Sahib Singh (52). While Balkar Singh was a deputy superintendent of police at the time of the incident in Amritsar district, Udham Singh, who retired as an inspector was the station house officer (SHO), Jandiala Guru. Sahib Singh is still serving in police.
They were granted bail soon after the sentencing by the court of special judicial magistrate, CBI, Mohali, Amandeep Kamboj. Five other accused cops — Gopal Singh, Bir Singh, Jasbir Singh, Tarsem Singh and another Balkar Singh — were acquitted while one of the accused, Satwant Singh, had died during trial.
Victim Surjit Singh along with Jatinder Singh and Paramjit Singh were allegedly taken away by a police team after a raid at Bhorsi Rajpatan village in Amritsar on May 7, 1992.
In her petition before the Punjab and Haryana high court in 1996, Surjit’s wife Paramjit had claimed that the police team was led by then DSP Balkar Singh and also comprised inspector Udham Singh and ASI Satwant Singh of the Jandiala police station. While Jatinder returned home after 15 days, Paramjit Singh was released on bail after a few months, but Surjit went missing.
Police had maintained that Surjit was arrested on May 8, 1992, with a pistol and cartridges at a naka and he escaped from their custody. FIRs were registered for both the crimes at the Jandiala Guru police station, it was alleged.
Surjit was tortured: CBI
The CBI investigations found the police version fake, following which nine cops were booked on May 27, 2003. According to the probe, Surjit and two others were picked from the village on May 7, 1992, and illegally detained and interrogated at the Jandiala Guru police station.
The next afternoon, they were allegedly taken to the interrogation centre in Amritsar, where they were again tortured, following which Surjit’s health deteriorated. His whereabouts are unknown thereafter. While Jatinder was released after a few days, Paramjit was shown as arrested in another case and sent to jail. He later got bail.
The court had framed charges against the cops under Sections 365 (kidnapping or abducting with intent secretly and wrongfully to confine person), 342 (wrongful confinement), 330 (voluntarily causing hurt to extort confession), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence) and 218 (public servant framing incorrect record) of the Indian Penal Code.
While seeking exemplary punishment, the prosecutor said: “The convicted persons despite being public servants have perpetrated barbaric acts such that the complainant is to date wanting an answer for the whereabouts of her husband.”
The court held: “I am of the considered view that to curtail the instances of commission of like offences, a deterrent punishment needs to be imposed so that one thinks twice before venturing to commit such a crime.”
