New Batala SSP to head probe

Ravi Dhaliwal

Tribune News Service

Batala, December 8

Senior Superintendent of Police Inderbir Singh would head the five-member special investigation team probing the botched eye camp at a Ghuman hospital that left more than 20 persons partially blind.

The team would also comprise SP (Crime) Amrik Singh Powar, DSP (Detective) Jugraj Singh, CIA in charge Balwinder Singh and Ghuman SHO Harkishen Singh. It would investigate the role of the doctor who performed the surgeries, the hospital administration and the Mathura-based NGO that organised the camp.

Interestingly, the SP (Crime) is undergoing training at Hyderabad and the date of his arrival is not yet known. Inderbir, the new district police chief, joined today after the state government two days ago transferred his predecessor Manminder Singh to the PAP, Jalandhar.

The police are already facing flak for allegedly letting off lightly Jalandhar-based doctor Dr Vivek Arora by granting him bail at the Ghuman police station. At that time, Manminder had gone on record saying “the doctor was given bail as the offences made out against him in the FIR were bailable in nature”.

But he took a U-turn subsequently and said since the police did not have sufficient evidence against him, they “deferred his arrest”.

No arrest in Mathura

An officer claimed the team sent to Mathura to arrest members of the NGO, SKL Netra Chakitsalya, did not taste much success as it found the premises (of the NGO) locked. The police also conducted raids to arrest Dr Humveer Singh, who runs the NGO.