32-Year Wait for Justice: 5 Punjab Police Officials Get Life Imprisonment in Fake Encounter Case

Chandigarh (The Uttam Hindu): The CBI Special Court has sentenced five police officers, including former SSP and DSP of Punjab Police, found guilty in the 1993 fake encounter case in Tarn Taran, Punjab. The court has sentenced five police officers, including retired SSP Bhupendrajit Singh and retired DSP Davinder Singh, to life imprisonment.

All of them were tried under Section 302 and 120-B of IPC for murder of 7 people and criminal conspiracy. Earlier, 10 police officers and employees were made accused in this case, but 5 died during the trial. Advocate Sarabjit Singh Verka of the victim families said that after completing the investigation, the CBI had filed a chargesheet in 2002 against Bhupinderjit Singh DSP Goindwal, Inspector Gurdev Singh SHO Sarhali, SI Gyan Chand, ASI Devinder Singh, ASI Gulbarg Singh, Inspector Suba Singh SHO Thana Verowal, ASI Jagir Singh, ASI Raghubir Singh, HC Mohinder Singh, HC Aroor Singh were named. But during the period 2010-21, the hearing of this case remained stalled and during this period five accused died.

The case dates back to 1993, in which 7 people were shown dead in 2 separate encounters. Whereas 4 of them were posted as Special Police Officers. On 27 June 1993, the culprits picked up people from their homes and kept them in illegal custody for several days and tortured them. On 28 July 1993, a fake encounter was carried out under the leadership of the then DSP Bhupendrajit Singh. FIRs were filed for two separate fake police encounters in Thana Vairowal and Thana Saharali of Tarn Taran. 7 people were killed in fake encounters. After the Supreme Court's order of 12 December 1996, this case was handed over to the CBI. On 2 July 1993, the Punjab Police had claimed that 3 people Shinder Singh, Desa Singh and Sukhdev Singh absconded with government weapons. 10 days later, i.e. on 12 July, the police, under the leadership of then DSP Bhupendrajit Singh and Inspector Gurdev Singh, fabricated a story of an encounter.

The police prepared a memo showing the recovery of a bolt action rifle, a 12 bore SB gun and a 303 rifle along with used and live cartridges to justify the fake encounter on 28 July 1993 and to hide the killings of the above persons by fabricating the story of the encounter, a false case was registered at Police Station Verowal Tarn Taran on 28 July 1993 and false documents were prepared. The police said that a person named Mangal Singh was being taken to Ghadka village for recovery in a robbery case, when the terrorists attacked on the way. According to the police, Mangal Singh, Desa Singh, Shinder Singh and Balkar Singh were killed in the firing from both sides. But when the investigation of the case was handed over to the CBI, it was understood on the basis of 2 points that the encounter was fake.