Paramjit Kaur Khalra puts AAP govt in spot: '3 weeks on, no update by CM Mann on absconding convicts'

Paramjeet Kaur Khalra, wife of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, has put the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in a spot as she has questioned Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann about the whereabouts of former DSP Jaspal Singh and (SIs) Satnam Singh and Jasbir Singh accused of custodial torture and killing of Khalra.

In a social media post on X, Khalra said, "More than three weeks after it was brought to the attention of Chief Minister @BhagwantMann that convicted former Punjab Police officials Jaspal Singh (DSP), Satnam Singh (SI) and Jasbir Singh (SI) — found guilty in the abduction and murder of human rights defender Jaswant Singh Khalra — have been untraceable since 2023, there has been no public update from the authorities," stated Paramjeet Kaur.

It was further stated, "The responsibility for allowing convicted murderers to remain absconding lies with the Chief Minister and the @PbGovtIndia. The people of Punjab and the families of victims deserve answers."

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Amid the controversy surrounding the film ‘Satluj’, the spotlight has once again turned to the convicts in the murder case of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra.

While whereabouts of ex-DSP Jaspal Singh — who was convicted in the Khalra murder case and was released from custody from Nabha Open Air Jail on May 26, 2023 — are still unknown, the state government maintained that the AAP government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann did not sign any file related to premature release of Khalra murder case convicts.

Ex-DSP Jaspal Singh and other cops were convicted by a CBI court in 2005, sentenced to life imprisonment, and his conviction was upheld by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 2007 and the Supreme Court in 2011. He was released on interim bail in May 2023.

It has come to light that out of eight cops convicted for the murder of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, four have died, three are on parole or bail while one is still incarcerated.

AAP's media incharge Baltej Pannu maintained, “There were eight convicts in this case. Four of them have since died. The surviving convicts are Jaspal Singh, Satnam Singh, Surinder Singh and Jasbir Singh. Among them, Jaspal Singh was the senior-most officer as he was a DSP, while the others served under him.”

He had further said, “At present, Jaspal Singh, Satnam Singh and Jasbir Singh are out on parole or bail, while Surinder Singh remains in custody.”

He added, “Jaspal Singh was convicted by Sessions Court on November 18, 2005. The other accused, Satnam Singh, Surinder Singh and Jasbir Singh, were also convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. Jaspal Singh was lodged in Open Air Jail at Nabha, Satnam Singh and Surinder Singh were lodged in District Jail at Barnala, while Jasbir Singh was lodged in Central Jail at Amritsar.”

He further said, “This case was investigated by the CBI. The procedure governing premature release is different from ordinary criminal cases.”

Pannu pointed out, “Under Section 477 of the BNSS, 2023, corresponding to Section 435 of the CrPC, the power to consider premature release in cases investigated by the CBI does not rest with the state government. The state government cannot independently order the premature release of such convicts. The competent authority is the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.”

He said, “Jaspal Singh submitted an application for the premature release to the Ministry of Home Affairs in 2017. The Ministry of Home Affairs considered that application and rejected it in 2018.”

Pannu added, “After the Ministry of Home Affairs rejected the application, the matter also came before the Governor. Since the ministry had already declined the request, the Governor could not have taken a different view. Accordingly, the application was rejected by the Governor as well in August 2018.”

He said, “Thereafter, in 2019 — during Congress regime, the then DGP forwarded another recommendation. Since this too related to a CBI case, the matter again had to be referred to the Ministry of Home Affairs. With the approval of the Hon’ble Governor, the proposal was forwarded to the Ministry of Home Affairs on April 1, 2019.”

Pannu  said, “Thereafter, the cases relating to the other surviving co-convicts, namely Satnam Singh, Surinder Singh and Jasbir Singh, also came up for consideration regarding premature release before the Ministry of Home Affairs. The Ministry of Home Affairs rejected those applications in March 2023.”

He had further said, “The matter was referred once again to the Ministry of Home Affairs in October 2023. Since then, no application has been returned by the Ministry of Home Affairs to the Punjab Government. The Punjab Government has received no proposal from the ministry for consideration.”