MOHALI: Special
CBI court
judge RK Gupta on Thursday convicted former Punjab Police
DIG Dilbagh Singh
and
retired DSP Gurbachan Singh
in a
fake encounter
case of
1993
. The
conviction
came 31 years after the fake encounter and the two convicted former police officers will be sentenced on Friday.
Advocate Sarabjeet Singh Verka said this case was registered by CBI on the complaint of Chaman Lal.
Along with his sons Parveen Kumar, Bobby Kumar and Gulshan Kumar, the complainant was on June 22,1993 picked up by a police party, headed by then DSP Dilbagh Singh and then SHO Tarn Taran city Gurbachan Singh. They all were released by the police after a few days except Gulshan Kumar, a vegetable vendor.
The complainant claimed that his son was kept in illegal custody at Tarn Taran city police station and was killed in a staged encounter by the police on July 22,1993 along with three other persons.
Gulshan Kumar's body was not handed over to his family and was cremated as unclaimed by the police, the complainant claimed.
The CBI on February 28, 1997, registered a case against DSP Dilbagh Singh and others for kidnapping, illegal confinement and then killing of Gulshan Kumar in a fake encounter after the Supreme Court, by an order dated November 15, 1995, handed over the case.
After completing investigation on May 7, 1999, CBI presented a charge sheet against police officials of Tarn Taran district in the case - DSP Dilbagh Singh, inspector Gurbachan Singh, ASI Arjun Singh, ASI Davinder Singh and ASI Balbir Singh. Accused Arjun Singh, Davinder Singh and Balbir Singh died during the trial and proceedings against them were abated.
The investigating agency had cited 32 witnesses in this case but only 15 deposed during trial as most died during the long trial that was delayed due to petitions filed by the accused, which were evidently dismissed later. The occurrence of crime was on June 22, 1992 but charges were framed against the accused on February 7, 2022. The statement of the first witness was recorded in the trial court after about 30 years of occurrence. Similarly, the complainant Chaman Lal died before recording his statement.
Retired DIG Dilbagh Singh has been convicted under Section 364 (whoever kidnaps or abducts any person in order that such person may be murdered or may be so disposed of as to be put in danger of being murdered, shall be punished with imprisonment for life or rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to 10 years, and shall also be liable to fine) and retired DSP Gurbachan Singh has been convicted under sections 364, 302 (murder, kidnapping, destruction of evidences and forging original documents with intent to save accused), 218 and 201 of the Indian Penal Code.
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