Mintoo acquitted in bomb recovery case

Aman Sood

Tribune News Service

Patiala, May 4

The court of Additional District and Sessions Judge Ravdeep Singh Hundal today acquitted Harminder Singh Mintoo, one of the six prisoners who escaped from the Nabha jail last year, in the Nabha LPG bottling plant case. Bombs were seized from the plant in January 2010.

The Punjab Police had, in 2014, arrested Mintoo from Delhi’s international airport.

The acquittal comes almost a week after Mintoo was acquitted in another bomb recovery case, and a couple of days after Khalistan Tiger Force “terrorist” Ramandeep Goldy was acquitted in a Patiala bomb blast case.

The police had claimed that Mintoo was the facilitator and provided logistic support to the four accused, already acquitted three years ago, after unexploded improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were seized outside the Indian Oil’s LPG bottling plant in Nabha on January 18, 2010.

Mintoo’s counsel Barjinder Singh Sodhi said, “The police could not produce even one witness, who could prove my client’s link with the conspirators. Even the Army official, who was called to defuse the bomb, finds no mention in the police challan. The police could not prove that the seized objects were bombs. The only report presented by the police is by an Inspector, who certifies that the recovered objects were bombs.”

“The four accused in the case — Jasbir Singh, Harjant Singh, Pargat Singh and Bakhshish Singh — were acquitted on March 3, 2014, while the police still accused Mintoo of being the facilitator,” he said.

Then Patiala SSP Ranbir Singh Khatra had claimed that in November 2009, Bakhshish — the main accused in a case related to the attack on the convoy of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in Karnal — returned to India from Pakistan. Jasbir and Harjant arranged his stay in India. Through Harjant, Mintoo made arrangements for arms, ammunition and explosives from Mumbai.

The police, however, failed to prove it in the court.

Investigation falls flat

• The recent acquittals raise fingers at the police investigation in terror cases. Now, these cases will need re-investigation as all accused have been acquitted
• Last week, the court of Additional Sessions Judge, Ludhiana, acquitted Harminder Singh Mintoo, citing lack of evidence in the explosives recovery case. The Ludhiana Rural police had claimed to have recovered explosives from an abandoned Maruti car near the Halwara airbase on January 24, 2010 
• On May 1, Khalistan Tiger Force “terrorist” Ramandeep Goldy was acquitted in a bomb blast case. On April 10, 2010, a low-intensity bomb exploded near the Arya Samaj area in Patiala, leaving seven persons injured. Goldy was acquitted due to lack of evidence

Police ‘helpless’ 

• The police say no person comes before court to identify or give statement against terrorists, making it difficult for them to prove their case in court. “We can establish their links (with terrorists) during grilling, but it is not valid in court. The accused go scot-free due to lack of evidence,” they add.