Witnesses in mass suicide case fail to appear in court

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, July 18

The police witnesses in the mass suicide case, in which five members of a family had committed suicide by consuming some poisonous substance in 2004, didn’t appear in the court on Wednesday. The summons sent to them were returned unserved.

Notably, former DIG Kultar Singh and DSP Hardev Singh are among the accused who have been facing the trial. The court has framed charges against them.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Sandeep Singh Bajwa had written to Police Commissioner SS Srivastav on July 9 to ensure their presence in the court. Despite that no police witness, including head constable Davinder Singh, constable Prem Singh and head constable Davinder Singh failed to turn up. The court has fixed July 30 as the next date of hearing.

Hardeep Singh, his wife Romi, their children Imu and Sonu, and Hardeep’s mother had committed suicide by consuming poison in October 2004. In the suicide note and scribbling on a wall of their house, they had accused their relatives and the then SSP Kultar Singh of extortion and criminal intimidation that forced them to take the extreme step.

The suicides had come to light after a maid reached the family’s house at Chowk Moni near the Golden Temple on October 31, 2004. The police had found writings on the wall of a room, wherein Hardeep had accused his relatives and police officials of extorting money from him.

He had stated that these men claimed to be witnesses to some offence he had committed. As per the suicide note, the accused extorted Rs 7.5 lakh from him and informed the police when he failed to pay Rs 3 lakh more. Hardeep had also accused a senior police officer of taking Rs 5 lakh from him.