CHANDIGARH: The Vigilance judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court has indicted the CIA staff of the Patiala District Police for the ham-handed investigations into the double murder case in Allowable village of Patiala district.

Mrs. Surjit Kaur, who was widowed in the 1984 Delhi riots, and later plagued by the murder of her father and sister in Patiala in June 1992 had moved the High Court with her tale of woe, following which the inquiry was observed.

The judge in his report submitted to the Court recently, has held that the then Inspector, CIA, Darshan Singh (now promoted DSP), had willfully attempted to make Kartar Singh, an eye witness, retract his statement, wherein he had said that Bhag Singh, father of Mrs. Surjit Kaur, ‘was murdered and his body thrown into the Bhakra canal by six influential persons, Earlier, the same persons had injured one of her sisters who succumbed to her injuries.

But the police refused to register case of murder and instead asked the aggrieved family to reach a compromise with the six accused namely Inderjit Singh, Dharam Singh, Gola, Pappu, Vinod and another.

The reason for the treatment meted to the riot affected family was that the accused wanted them to vacate the house rented out by them in village Alowal.

Justice Swatantar Kumar, we whom the inquiry report has been submitted, directed the then Patiala SSP, CSR Reddy (now SSP, Chandigarh), to appear in person in his Court on November 10 to explain the whole case.

In her affidavit, Mrs. Sujit Kaur, alleged that the only eyewitness to the murder Kartar Singh was given electric shocks and beaten mercilessly. She had to approach the Punjab and Haryana High Court which appointed a warrant officer to find the eyewitness, Kartar Singh was found in the CIA branch office of the Patiala police. According (o the documents made available, the “victims” met the then Additional Director General of Police, O.P. Sharma who gave the investigations to the crime branch following which Balbir ‘Singh Randhawa SP and his tear worked ‘on the murder of Bhag Singh. A case under section 302 IPC was registered at Patiala, The husband of the complainant, Ajmer Singh, a granthi in Agati village of Patiala informed the inquiry officer that tie then ‘SSP Patiala, CSR Reddy, also visited the police station and saw for himself the treatment.

Interestingly, Ajmer Singh the husband of Surjit Kaur was bundled into a waiting truck outside the office of the SSP and taken away when the couple came after meeting Mr. Reddy seeking action against the killers the affidavit states. The inquiry report establishes that Darshan Singh had misused his powers and tried to hush up the matter.

Article extracted from this publication >> November 17, 1995