CHANDIGARH: The death of 19-year-old Ranjit Singh in an alleged encounter by the Punjab Police in connection with the killing of two police personnel in Gurdaspur has snowballed into a major controversy, with demands for an independent probe growing louder across Punjab. The police had earlier claimed that all three suspects were given money by Pakistan’s ISI.
The Member of Parliament from Gurdaspur and senior Congress leader Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa has written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah seeking an inquiry by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) or the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The family of the deceased has refused to accept his body, demanding that murder charges be registered against the police officers involved. Human rights groups and religious organisations have also called for a thorough investigation.
In his letter to the Union Home Minister, Randhawa stated that he was writing with a heavy sense of hurt and concern widely shared across Gurdaspur in particular and Punjab in general over the shocking killings of the policemen. “I refer in particular to the sequence of events in which the Punjab Police have claimed that a 19-year old youth allegedly connected with the crime was killed in an ‘encounter’ which his mother has publically asserted that he had earlier been picked up from their home. I do no wish to prejudge the facts however the existence of such sharply conflicting public versions has created a credibility deficit that the state police acting alone will find difficult to overcome,” it reads.
He further demanded, “Immediate transfer of the investigations to an appropriate central agency mandated by law-such as the NIA or CBI- so that the truth is pursued without fear of favor and in a manner that restores public confidence. Given the national security overtones and possibility of cross border linkages a central take over is essential. A time-bond, independent review of the entire custody and encounter sequence including the apprehension, movement, supervision, medical and forensic trail and compliance with all legal and procedural safegurard. This is necessary not merely to fix responsibility, but to ensure that crucial investigative leads are not lost and that the larger conspiracy if any-is uncovered.”
Family members said they would take the body only after the state government registers murder charges against the police personnel involved in the alleged encounter. Harvinder Singh Malhi, uncle of Ranjit, said the family has sought the intervention of the Supreme Court and the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
Ranjit’s mother, Sukhwinder Kaur, alleged that the state police took her son from their home on the pretext of questioning him in the killing of ASI Gurnam Singh and Home Guard jawan Ashok Kumar at the Adhian check post. “Then the police thrashed him badly and he died in their so-called interrogation. The post-mortem should be conducted by an independent panel of doctors,” she alleged and demanding a CBI investigation and then only the family will we claim his body.
Meanwhile, the Punjab Human Rights Organisation has demanded that the Punjab government conduct a thorough investigation through a judicial commission headed by a retired judge. The Khalra Mission Organisation and Manukhi Adhikar Insaaf Sangarsh Committee have requested the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court to take suo motu notice of the killing.
Ranjit Singh and Dilawar Singh were shot dead on Wednesday by the state police for their alleged involvement in the murder of an Assistant Sub-Inspector and a Home Guard jawan in Gurdaspur. The police had claimed that their associate, Inderjit Singh (20) of Adhian village, was on the run. Ranjit was a BA-I student while Dilawar worked online for a Delhi-based company. Both were schoolmates and Inderjit and Ranjit lived in the same locality at Adhian village.