30 years on, Punjab cops tell High Court wrong man killed in encounter

Chandigarh, December 9

Nearly 30 years after Sukhpal Singh of Batala in Gurdaspur allegedly died in an encounter in which “militant” Gurnam Singh Bandala, alias Neela Tara, was shown to have been killed, the Punjab Police have told the Punjab and Haryana High Court that the incident was stage-managed and the FIR in the matter was registered by falsifying facts.

FIR falsified

• Batala’s Sukhpal allegedly killed in 1994 encounter, but police wrongly showed they shot ‘militant’ Gurnam Bandala
• In October 1998, Bandala was found alive and arrested in another case
• Police SIT tells HC that incident was stage-managed and FIR lodged by falsifying facts

A special investigation team (SIT) probing the matter had previously told the high court that the investigation had established that Sukhpal was missing since July-August 1994. It was also established that an unknown person was killed in a police encounter in the jurisdiction of Morinda police station in Ropar district. An FIR was registered on July 29, 1994, for attempt to murder and other offences under Section 307 and 34 of the IPC, and the provisions of the Arms Act and TADA (P) Act.

It was claimed by the police that “terrorist Gurnam Singh Bandala was allegedly the person who was killed in the police encounter”. However, it came to light subsequently that Bandala was alive and he was arrested by the Batala police on October 9, 1998, in another case.

In the latest affidavit, Director General of Police-cum-chairperson of the SIT, Gurpreet Deo, has stated: “During the investigation of case FIR number 63 dated July 29, 1994, and lodged at Morinda police station, it was found that the said police encounter in the case is stage-managed and the FIR has been registered by falsifying facts.” The high court was also told that the SIT, after taking legal opinion from the Ropar District Attorney (legal), registered a fresh FIR on October 21 at Singh Bhagwantpura police station in Ropar against then SP(D) Paramraj Singh, DSP Jaspal Singh and ASI Gurdev Singh for alleged fabrication of evidence. The matter is currently under investigation by the Superintendent of Police (headquarters) in Ropar district.

The petition in the matter was filed in 2013 by the victim’s wife, Dalbir Kaur, and his father Jagir Singh of Kala Afghana village through counsel R Kartikeya.