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Sangrur cops identify attackers, keep brothers' assailants a mystery
A first-information report (FIR) registered at last doesn't name the cops who on Tuesday night fired at two brothers near Malerkotla in a case of mistaken identity.
A first-information report (FIR) registered at last doesn't name the cops who on Tuesday night fired at two brothers near Malerkotla in a case of mistaken identity.
Another police FIR, however, identifies the men who got away in the actual Ford Figo after firing at cops near Sherpur. The report by Harbans Singh of the Home Guards names Abdul Rahid "Ghudu", Feroz Mohammad, Mohammad Irfan and Avarjit Singh, all from Malerkotla, as the accused - and even mentions what arms and ammunition they carried.
The report says that as a police party flashed torchlight at a car to flag it down, Ghudu with a 0.32-bore pistol, Feroz with a 0.12-bore rifle, and Irfan and Avarjit with pistols fired at the squad from inside and sped away. "I took a gunshot in the shoulder," Harbans Singh stated. In the dark of night at 9pm, it's surprising that he noted everything clearly except the vehicle's number. Police ended up chasing the wrong car and taking wrong men for gangsters.
Registered under Section 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the FIR about the attack on brothers Satwinder Honey and Sunil Kumar is based on the statement of Prem Chand, father-in-law of Honey, but the police have not named any of the six cops accused, though they are said to be from Sangrur's crime investigation agency (CIA). Confronted with it, superintendent of police (detective) Paramjit Singh Goraya, who heads the CIA wing, said names would be added after investigation.
He failed to answer how the cops could not be identified when every movement of police squad is recorded in daily diary register and every bullet they spend is accounted for. "To answer your queries, I'll have to go through the record," he said. In both cases, there has been no arrest, though Punjab State Human Rights Commission (PSHRC) has taken suo-motu notice of the attack on the brothers and sought a report from the Sangrur senior superintendent of police (SSP) by October 26.
