Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann assures justice to assaulted Army Colonel Bath 

The family of Colonel Pushpinder Singh Bath on Monday said Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has assured them that justice will be delivered in the case of “assault” on the Army officer.

After meeting Mann here, Colonel Bath’s wife Jasvinder Kaur also said the Chief Minister will be holding a meeting with officials in this regard.

The CM had recently given the family time to meet him on Monday in connection with the incident. The Army officer has accused 12 Punjab Police personnel of assaulting him and his son over a parking dispute in Patiala recently.

Bath’s family has demanded a CBI inquiry in the matter, arrest of the accused policemen and transfer of SSP of Patiala.

“I thank the Chief Minister for promising to take appropriate action in the matter...I salute him. He said justice will be delivered in the case. He said he will be holding meeting with officials,” Jasvinder Kaur told reporters after meeting the CM.

“He (CM Mann) kept his hand on my head and said I am Punjab’s daughter. He listened to us patiently,” she said.

“I have been given assurance that justice will be delivered,” Kaur said.

Meanwhile, AS Rai, head of the special investigation team set up to probe the case, on Monday appealed to people of Patiala that if anyone has any evidence in the form of video recordings or any other information pertaining to the assault incident, they can share with the SIT.

The Punjab Police had lodged a fresh FIR based on Colonel Bath’s statement a week after the alleged incident.

Colonel Bath recently filed a plea in the high court, seeking to transfer the probe to the CBI or another independent agency.

The incident took place on the intervening night of March 13 and 14, when Bath and his son were having food at a roadside dhaba in Patiala.

Bath has alleged that the assailants — four inspector-rank officers of the Punjab Police and their armed subordinates — attacked him and his son without provocation, snatched his ID card and mobile phone, and threatened him with a “fake encounter” — all in public view and under CCTV camera coverage.

Bath has further alleged in the plea that a fair investigation was impossible under the Punjab Police. The colonel suffered a broken arm, while his son a cut on his head in the incident.

All 12 police personnel have been placed under suspension and departmental proceedings initiated against them, the Punjab Police earlier said.