HC notice to CBI, others in sarpanch murder case

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 12

Just about eight months after a sarpanch was shot in full public view in front of a gurdwara in Sector 38 here, Justice Rajan Gupta of the Punjab and Haryana High Court today put the Union of India, the CBI and the NIA on notice.

Additional Solicitor General of India Satya Pal Jain accepted the notice on behalf of respondent Union of India, the CBI and the NIA in the court itself. The notice came on a petition filed by the victim Satnam Singh’s brother Parminder Singh through counsel Mohinder Kumar.

As the case came up for hearing, Justice Gupta’s Bench was told that an FIR in the matter was registered at the Maloya police station on April 9 for attempt to murder and other offences under Section 307, 336, 34 of the IPC. Murder offence under Section 302 of the IPC was added later.

Describing the petitioner as an “unfortunate person”, Mohinder Kumar contended that firstly his father and uncle were murdered. Thereafter, his brother Nishan Singh was done to death and now his other brother Satnam Singh, sarpanch of Khurda village in Hoshiarpur district, was murdered.

The petitioner alleged the reason for killing Satnam Singh was that he was a complainant and an eyewitness in the murder case of his other brother Nishan Singh. The Chandigarh Police, till date, had arrested only three accused. It had failed to nab the remaining accused named in his statement recorded by the police.

“The accused persons are roaming freely in Chandigarh and Punjab despite the fact that some of the accused persons are gangsters of the Vicky Gounder gang and are wanted by the police of various states, including Punjab, Haryana, Maharashtra, and UT. They are wanted in number of FIRs, including murder, dacoity, extortion cases,” he said.