On the 24th of April, a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court deemed 21 cops guilty of murder, conspiracy and illegal confinement (kidnapping) of Gurpartap Singh. These arrests were made 26 years after the cops kidnapped and held Gurpartap hostage before killing him in an “encounter.”
The CBI discharged the former Superintendent of Police, Gursharan Singh Bedi. Gursharan was posted as an Inspector at the Tarn Taran Police Station in the year 1993 and was chiefly responsible for arresting Gurpartap. Twenty one other cops were also a part of this case.
The decision was passed after a special probe was conducted by the CBI. According to the results of the probe, Gurpartap (17 at the time of the arrest) was taken into illegal custody and held at the CIA building in Taran from the 2nd of October 1993 to the 23rd of October 1993.
From there, Gurpartap was transferred to the CIA building in Barnala and held for a further amount of time in illegal custody. Later, fake charge records were produced to show he was granted a police remand by the court. A couple of days later, the police showed records of Gurpartap escaping from police custody. During the period of his detention, the police had registered four cases against Gurpartap and said, while being taken to interrogation, he tried to escape the place.
Gurpartap was killed on the 22nd of November by the police officers. The police officers stated, Gurpartap tried to escape from custody, which led to an encounter, during which he was killed. The team which killed Gurpartap was headed by the then Inspector, Inspector Sant Kumar.
The CBI pressed charges on the police officers under Sections 302 (Murder,) 120B (criminal conspiracy,) 218 (Public servant framing incorrect record or writing with intent to save person from punishment or property from forfeiture) and 342 (wrongful confinement) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC.)
The then Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Gursharan Singh was let go by the CBI because they couldn’t find enough information against the DSP.
Stay tuned for more updates.
