Assault on Colonel: Punjab Police SIT starts investigation

A three-member special investigation team on Tuesday initiated the probe into the alleged assault on an Army colonel and his son by police personnel in Patiala around a fortnight ago and visited the incident spot.

The special investigation team (SIT), headed by Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) SPS Parmar, was constituted on March 21 after a fresh FIR in the case was lodged by the police on the statement of the Colonel.

Colonel Pushpinder Singh Bath and his son were allegedly assaulted by 12 police personnel on March 13 night. The issue snowballed into a major row as support poured in for the victims from different quarters, with politicians trying to corner the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) over the state’s law and order during the ongoing Punjab Assembly session.

The victims’ family too have rejected the SIT constituted by the state police and demanding a probe by the CBI. On Tuesday, the SIT visited the incident spot and collected files pertaining to the case.

The visit was kept under wraps as the SIT members held a closed-door discussion with senior police officers of the district.

According to sources, the probe team took with them the alleged pictures and the video clip of the incident that the Colonel had submitted to the police.

However, the SIT could not meet the victims as they had gone to Chandigarh to attend a hearing in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, where they have filed a petition seeking a CBI probe into the case.