Former Punjab SP jailed in 32-yr-old abduction case

Tribune News Service

Mohali, March 30

A CBI court here has sentenced former Punjab Police SP Amarjit Singh to 10 years in prison and also slapped a penalty of Rs 1 lakh in a 32-year-old case of abduction of a man from Jhabal in Tarn Taran, Balwinder Singh.

Amarjit was then posted as the SHO at the Jhabal police station. Another accused, Ashok Kumar, then posted as DSP, died during the trial and the proceedings against him were abated.

The police filed a chargesheet against the two accused under Section 120B and 364 of the IPC on September 16, 1999, while the charges were framed in 2000. There was a stay on the trial from 2002 to 2022 in the wake of petitions filed by the accused in higher courts, which were subsequently dismissed. A resident of Moga, 60-year-old Amarjit retired recently as SP.

The police suspected Balwinder to be an “acquaintance of a militant hailing from his village”. According to the CBI, Balwinder, his wife Rajwant Kaur and mother Gurbachan Kaur were picked up by the police on October 4, 1992. The police team, led by the then DSP and the SHO, took the trio to the Jhabal police station for questioning.

Gurbachan was released after four days and Rajwant eight days, the agency said. After a fortnight, Balwinder’s family was informed that he had been shifted to Ferozepur. His whereabouts have not been known ever since.

In 1995, the Supreme Court had directed the Central probe agency to probe the incidents of alleged extra-judicial killings done by officials of the Punjab Police and disposal of bodies as “lawaris” (unidentified). Subsequently, the agency registered a preliminary inquiry.

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#Central Bureau of Investigation CBI #Mohali #Punjab Police #Tarn Taran