Two ex-cops convicted in over 32-yr-old fake encounter case

A CBI court has convicted two former Tarn Taran police officials in a 32-year-old fake encounter case. Those convicted are Sita Ram (80), then Patti SHO, and constable Rajpal (57), then posted at the Patti police station.

Sita Ram was convicted under Sections 302, 201 and 218 of the IPC while Rajpal was convicted under Sections 201 and 120-B of the IPC, said CBI Public Prosecutor Anmol Narang.

The quantum of sentence would be pronounced on March 6.

The court acquitted five other accused in the case giving them the benefit of doubt. Four accused, Sardool Singh, Amarjit Singh, Didar Singh and Sameer Singh, had died during the pendency of trial.

In all, 11 police officials were charged with kidnapping, illegal confinement and murder.

The CBI conducted the preliminary inquiry and recorded statement of one Gian Singh on November 27, 1996, and later on registered a case against ASI Norang Singh and others of the Kairon and Patti police stations in February 1997.

According to the CBI, on January 30, 1993, Gurdev Singh, alias Deba of Galalipur, Tarn Taran, was picked up from his house by a police party headed by ASI Norang Singh, incharge of the Kairon police post in Tarn Taran. On February 5, 1993, Sukhwant Singh of Bahmniwala village was picked by ASI Didar Singh of the Patti police station.

Both were shown killed in an encounter on February 6, 1993, in the Bhagupur area. The bodies were cremated as “unclaimed”. At that time, cops claimed that both were involved in 300 cases of murder and extortion, but the CBI found that claim incorrect.

After completing its investigation in 2000, the CBI presented a chargesheet against Norang Singh, ASI Deedar Singh, then Patti DSP Kashmir Singh, Sita Ram, Darshan Singh, then Valtoha SHO Gobinder Singh, ASI Shamir Singh, ASI Faquir Singh, Constable Sardool Singh, Constable Rajpal and Constable Amarjit Singh. The case later remained stayed till 2021.

Meanwhile, the evidence collected by the CBI disappeared from the judicial case file. The record was reconstructed on HC orders and finally the statement of the first prosecution witness was recorded in 2023.

Counsel for the victim families Sarabjit Singh Verka said the CBI had named 48 witnesses in the case, but only 22 deposed during the trial as 23 of them had died during the trial. That led to the acquittal of some accused, he said.