Fake encounter: Victim’s family seeks capital punishment for accused officers

Neeraj Bagga/Gurbaxpuri

Amritsar, June 8

A day after the special CBI court, Mohali, sentenced former DIG Dilbagh Singh to seven years of rigorous imprisonment and former DSP Gurbachan Singh to life term for executing a fake encounter, the Tarn Taran-based family of the victim, Gulshan Kumar, said they were not satisfied with the verdict.

Bobby Kumar, 47, said his elder brother Gulshan, a vegetable vendor, was in early 20s when he was killed in the 1993 fake encounter. He sought capital punishment for the accused. He claimed that a migrant employed at the cremation ground had told them that Gulshan was cremated as unclaimed.

He recalled that his father Chaman Lal and brother Praveen Kumar had died during the 31-year long trial. He stated that his father had barefoot contested the case for 25 years till he breathed his last in 2016. Later, Praveen contested the case till 2023.

Residing in a 50 sq yd house with his two two more brothers, Bobby said his family had spent Rs 13 lakh to fight the case till 2016.

“Later, we did not had a single penny to plead the case. Paramjit Kaur Khalra, wife of slain human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, assisted us to continue the legal battle,” said Bobby.

Narrating the ordeal of his family, Bobby added that 31 members of his family had been killed in communal clashes during the Partition.

Assisted by his son Shiv Kumar, Bobby sells vegetables in Gali Darshan Singh on the Jandiala road in Tarn Taran city.