HISAR: A criminal case was registered by the police against former Haryana Chief Minister Bhajan Lal, here last week for allegedly ordering the kidnapping, illegal detention and torture of the former Chairman of the Haryana Public Service Commission (HPSC), Gurmesh Bishnoi, and his brother in 1991. The then SSP, Hisar, Harish Kumar, a DSP and two inspectors, have also been named in the case. The FIR said that despite the anticipatory bail order, he and his brother were picked up by these police officers from his house and taken to a police station where they were allegedly Kept in illegal detention and tortured, between October 18, 1991 and November 11, 1991. He alleges that false TADA cases were gathered against him by showing recovery of live cartridges from his house; The FIR alleged that the police officers took Gurmesh and his brother to Punjab with the intention to eliminate them. It was only after protests by the Hisar Bar, of which Gurmesh was member, that they were finally produced before a magistrate, almost two weeks after being picked up:

Session Judge, Hisar, in his report to the Punjab and Haryana High Court also observed that Gurmesh and his brother had been abducted, illegally detained and tortured. Gurmesh later filed the case with the Supreme Court. The apex court directed him to file a review petition in the high Court, which was decided on July 14, 1995, in his favor and gave him the ‘option to file criminal complaint against the accused, The FIR was lodged almost One year after the High Court had given him the option.

Gurmesh Bishnoi said that he took his time t6 exercise the option as he had no hope of getting justice during the Bhajan Lal regime. “The involvement of top police officers in the case was another deterrent to file the complaint, as these officers were protected by the Chief Minister,” he said. Gurmesh, who was the Samata Party candidate from the Adampur constituency in the recent Assembly elections against Bhajan Lal, also said in the FIR that the latter had again threatened him to get him kidnapped on coming to power.

Tracing the turn of events from 1991 Assembly elections, Gurmesh who remained a member and then chairman of the HPSC between 1980 and 1990, said in the Fir that Bhajan Lal had felt offended by him as he had supported HVP candidate Nar Singh Bishnoi in the 1991 elections. Meanwhile, police officers here were tightlipped about the registration of the FIR.

Article extracted from this publication >>  June 26, 1996