NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court last week ordered a judicial inquiry by the district judge Ludhiana into the allegations of legal arrest and detention of the son and brother-in-law of Punjab Congress leader Rajinder Saini in August 1993 by the state police at the instance of Chief Minister Beant Singh
According to the petitioner his nephew Rajinder Saini who was a Congress leader of Punjab had become an eyesore to the Chief Minister Beant Singh and as a result political rivalry arose.
The petitioner alleges that Rajinder was invited to dinner by the DIG Ludhiana range and assaulted and old to disappear from since then the police had Saini and in order to coerce his surrender his son Daljit Saini and his brother-in-law Om Prakash were abducted from the Pathankot railway station.
The state of Punjab has denied these allegations and stated that Rajinder had planned to eliminate the Chief Minister Beant Singh and if he could not be eliminated then the son of Jitendra Prasad political secretary to the Prime Minister Narasimha Ro was to be abducted and he (Prasad) would intervene and get the two released by affecting a bargain.
The police said a criminal case had also been registered against Saini for allegedly robbing a person of case of Rs three lakhs along with two other accomplices in July 1993.
An FIR had also been lodged on conspiracy so eliminate the Punjab Chief Minister by the police on the basis of information from one Jagdev Singh The state government further stated that Saini was arrested by the police in August 1993 and confessed his guilt in various n various activities and the present petition filed by Saini’s maternal uncle was solely for the purpose of pressurizing the police against pursuing the cave against Saini.
Article extracted from this publication >> February 18, 1994
