UK police rule out Paramjit Pamma’s involvement

Manish Sirhindi

Tribune News Service

Patiala, February 24

Investigations carried out by the West Midlands Police (WIP) into the allegations levelled against Paramjit Singh Pamma of being involved in killing of Rashtriya Sikh Sangat (RSS) head Rulda Singh provided Protugal authorities grounds to block his extradition.

Almost a year after Rulda Singh was shot at his shop-cum-flat at the Grain Market on July 28, 2009 in Patiala, the West Midlands Police had put Pamma under house arrest in July 2010 along with three other suspects, including Gursharan Bir Singh, Piara Singh Gill and Amritbir Singh, who were detained.

As nothing concrete was established against the four during the investigations held against them in UK, an eight-member team of WIP investigators under detective superintendent George Tracy visited Punjab in December 2010 and separately interrogated Jagmohan Singh and Darshan Singh, who were arrested in connection with the same case. The two were lodged at Patiala and Nabha jails, respectively, at that time.

The team was here to collect evidence to put the four UK-detainees on trail. They had been detained after the Punjab police shared information with its British counterparts.

As per the allegations, Paramjit Singh Pamma, who was said to be associated with Babbar Khalsa International had masterminded the murder while Piara Singh Gill and Gursharan Bir, both from UK, had travelled to India to execute the plan.

The fourth suspect Amritbir Singh was also involved in planning of the murder. 

Both Piara Singh and Gursharan had returned to UK after murdering Rulda Singh. It came to light that long before the Indian authorities got a Red Corner Notice issued in the name of Paramjit Singh Pamma in 2012, the investigations carried out by West Midlands Police had given Pamma and other a clean chit and were released from detention.

Patiala-based Human Rights Lawyer Birjinder Singh Sodhi, who has been providing local support to Pamma’s legal team which was contesting his extradition case with the Portugal authorities, said clean chit given by the WIP police to Pamma had become a major ground for the Portugal authorities to deny his extradition to Indian authorities. He claimed that the five accused arrested by the Punjab police were also acquitted by the court in February last year which also went in favour of Pamma.