32 years on, former SHO gets 10-yr RI in dual kidnapping case

A special CBI court today sentenced former Sarhali station house officer (SHO) Surinderpal Singh to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment in a 32-year-old kidnapping case.

The convict, now 63, was also fined Rs 2 lakh for executing the disappearance and the illegal confinement of Sukhdev Singh and his father-in-law Sulakhan Singh, 80, a freedom fighter.

Surinderpal was convicted on December 18 and the quantum of sentence was pronounced today.

The court sentenced Surinderpal under Sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 364, 365 (both kidnapping) and 342 (wrongful confinement) of the Indian Penal Code.

The co-accused Assistant Sub-inspector (ASI) Avtar Singh died during the trial.

Sukhdev Singh, who was the vice-principal at Government Senior Secondary School, Lopoke, Amritsar, and his father-in-law Sulakhan, who was a close associate of Baba Sohan Singh Bhakna during the Independence movement, were picked up by the Tarn Taran police from their house in Ghanupur Kale of Amritsar.

Cops informed the family that they were called by Surinderpal, the then SHO, for questioning on October 31,1992. Both were kept illegally in the police station for three days and could not be traced.

“The family was later informed that Sukhdev died due to torture and his dead body, with Sulakhan, who was alive, were thrown in Harike canal,” said Jai Hind Patel, public prosecutor, CBI.

In 2009, the CBI filed a chargesheet against Surinderpal and Avtar but charges under Section 120-B, 342,364 and 365 of the IPC were framed in 2016.

Sukhdev’s wife said her son Baljinder Singh was killed in a fake encounter after her husband and father were picked up by the police.