Former Inspector injured in Patiala jail attack dies

Former Inspector Suba Singh (82), serving a life term in the Tarn Taran fake encounter case, died at Rajindra Hospital on Wednesday, six days after being attacked inside Patiala Central Jail.

On September 11, Suba Singh, former DSP Gurbachan Singh and Inderjit Singh were assaulted by fellow inmate Sandeep Singh, alias Sunny, who is accused of the 2022 murder of Hindu leader Sudhir Suri in Amritsar. Sunny allegedly fashioned spoons into sharp weapons and struck the three persons on the head and face.

Gurbachan Singh and Inderjit Singh remained under observation for two days, Suba Singh, who had suffered deep facial and head injuries, was admitted to the ICU. Rajindra Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Vishal Chopra said Suba Singh was in critical condition. He was put on ventilator support and a neurosurgery was also performed, but did not survive.

Suba Singh and others were sentenced to rigorous life imprisonment on August 5 for a 1993 fake encounter in Tarn Taran, in which seven persons were killed. Sunny, considered a high-risk inmate for his radical leanings, has been frequently shifted between jail barracks. Patiala SSP Varun Sharma said attempt-to-murder cases had already been registered, and now murder sections would also be added.

Meanwhile, SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami raised concerns over Sunny’s treatment in custody. Dhami alleged the authorities subjected Sunny to custodial violence and denied access to his family, instead of conducting a fair probe. Despite a court order for Sunny’s medical examination at Rajindra Hospital, jail officials ignored it and later moved Sunny from the Patiala jail to Sangrur Jail, he claimed.