Multani case: After Sumedh Saini, 4 former Chandigarh cops get anticipatory bail

Sanjay Bumbroo

Tribune News Service

Mohali, May 19

Four retired cops of the Chandigarh police, who were booked in a 29-year old case of alleged abduction and disappearance of Balwant Singh Multani, a CITCO employee, had been granted anticipatory bail by a court in Mohali on Tuesday.

The four former cops identified as Har Sahai Sharma, Jagir Singh, Anoop Singh and Kuldip Singh, had been named in an FIR registered against them in the Mataur police station by victim’s brother Palwinder Singh Multani. All the cops had retired as Inspector from the UT police.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Monika Goyal, while granting the anticipatory bail to the four ordered that they must join investigation by physically appearing before the Investigating Officer within seven days from today.

The court further ordered that in that event they be released on anticipatory bail on their furnishing personal bonds in the sum of Rs 50,000 each with one surety of the like amount.

The court orders further restricted them not to leave the country and also directed to surrender their passports with the police. The court also directed the Investigation Officer to join the accused/applicant in investigation by maintaining social distancing and by following all the precautions mentioned for prevention of Covid-19.

It is pertinent to mention here that former DGP Sumedh Singh Saini had also been granted anticipatory bail by the court after being booked in the same case. The other two cops then Sub Inspector Satvir Singh and DSP Baldev Singh have passed away. 

Advocate HS Dhanoa and Himmat Singh Deol, counsel for the four cops, had contested the evidences of state by falsifying their claims of evidences produced in the form of statements of Sukhvinder Kaur, a resident of Phase VII and Sarabjit Kaur, resident of Phase X as well as the eyewitness Gursharan Kaur Mann, a practicing advocate at the Punjab and Haryana High Court that they have not named these cops in their statements.

Dhanoa, while taking this as ground for seeking bail, argued before the court that witnesses have named then DSP Baldev Singh who has already passed away. “Apart from the statements of the Mohali residents and advocate G K Mann, Qadian police also could not ascertain the names of these four cops in any of any of their statements — which convinced the court to grant the anticipatory bail,” said Dhanoa.

District Attorney Sanjit Batra, while opposing the anticipatory bail by refuting the claims of the defence submitted before the court, “Their claims are false and baseless and it seems that they have made the grounds before disappearing Multani as he was picked up by accused policemen from his house in Phase 7 on December 11, 1991 and statements of witnesses in this regard have been recorded by the police. Whereas now they are claiming that they picked him up from near KC Theatre. These cops were present in the team under former DGP Saini which had interrogated Multani.”

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