CHANDIGARH: The attack on a serving Army colonel and his son by 12 Punjab Police personnel over a parking dispute in Patiala has snowballed into a major controversy. Even as the Punjab government on Thursday ordered a magisterial probe into the incident, the Army officer’s family rejected it on Friday, saying they do not trust the state government.
Frequently breaking down in tears and speaking in a voice choked with emotion, Jasvinder Kaur Bath, wife of Colonel Pushpinder Singh Bath, demanded that the case be transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for an impartial investigation.
She said that the accused policemen "meted such inhuman treatment to my husband. We do not even deal with terrorists like this."
She demanded the immediate registration of an FIR based on her husband’s complaint under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita including attempt to murder, the naming of all 12 accused police officers in the FIR, and the immediate transfer of the accused officers out of Patiala.
"The FIR should be registered on my husband's complaint, under Sections 109, 118 (2), 118 (1), 115 (2), 126 (2), 308 (4), 311, 351 (2&3) read with 3 (5) of BNS, naming all 12 guilty police officers," she said, while demanding arrest of the accused police officials.
She further alleged that the police had not named the 12 officers who have been suspended in the case because it would bring a bad name to the force as they were involved in working out a case and commended the same morning.
"Like a pack of wolves, they descended upon him, and before he could even defend himself, at least 12 officials, including four inspectors, began ruthlessly thrashing him with batons, fists and kicks, without stopping for a second to consider that they were assaulting a soldier of this very nation. When my son, Angad Singh, tried to shield his father, he too was attacked with relentless blows," Jasvinder alleged.
She accused Patiala Senior Superintendent of Police Nanak Singh of failing to take action in the matter. "Singh should also be posted out of Patiala for lack of cooperation, as the family requested him multiple times to register the FIR, but he kept giving false hopes, delaying the process of justice and causing untold harassment to the family," she alleged.
Jaswinder alleged that she was asked to compromise on the issue and not pursue the case even when she showed the videos of the "brutal violence that had been committed and also the videos where four accused police inspectors were seeking forgiveness from me."
The family claimed that when the two were standing outside their car and having food, some police officers in civilian clothes approached and asked the Colonel to move his vehicle so they could park theirs. When the Colonel objected to their rude tone, one of the officers punched him, and soon all the police personnel began thrashing him and his son.
She submitted a representation to the Deputy Commissioner of Patiala, recounting the ordeal her family allegedly faced at the hands of the Punjab Police. She urged the DC, "Please help restore my shattered faith in the justice system and ensure that no innocent citizen suffers what we have encountered."
She said she had received phone calls from several politicians. "But I did not pick up even one politician's phone because it is not a political fight. I am a fauji's wife, my husband fights for the country, it is not my fight alone, it is everybody's fight," she said.
Jaswinder further alleged that some of the accused cops threatened her in the police station, saying today they were seeking forgiveness from her, but tomorrow "they will see her and her son" who live in Patiala. "I saw no remorse in their eyes," she said.
"The same dhaba owner, who had initially given me CCTV extracts and named the accused officials, was later forced under pressure to change his statement, a clear sign of intimidation and manipulation by the police force," she alleged.
She said her repeated visits to police stations in Patiala were met with apathy, arrogance and outright refusal to act. "Instead of justice, my family has only received threats," she alleged.
The family has planned to hold a protest march in Patiala on March 22 to seek justice in the matter.
The incident took place on the intervening night of March 13 and 14, when Colonel Bath and his son were at a roadside eatery near Government Rajindra Hospital in Patiala. Bath is currently posted at Army Headquarters at New Delhi.
On Thursday, the Colonel’s family had met with the Punjab Governor, seeking a CBI probe into the matter. The family also rejected the investigation by an executive magistrate ordered by the Punjab government. "If my husband and my son are found guilty, they should be punished as well," she said.
SSP Patiala Nanak Singh was not available for comment despite repeated tries.
Many senior ex-Army officers and other ex-servicemen have stood in solidarity with the Colonel and his family.
During the zero hour on the first day of the state budget session, Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa demanded the immediate transfer of Senior Superintendent of Police of Patiala Nanak Singh for protecting police officers who assaulted a serving colonel. Bajwa sought exemplary punishment for the erring police officers and a judicial probe by a sitting or retired judge into the incident.
Citing a similar incident, Bajwa said a Lt Col in Chandigarh in 1992 faced the brutality of a 'hotheaded’ SSP. The then Punjab governor Surinder Nath launched a joint inquiry under a Brigadier and DIG. They found the SSP guilty and subsequently he was transferred.
A case was registered on Friday in Police Station Civil Lines, Patiala, on the statement of Colonel Bath. The statement names the police officials who assaulted him and also gives the roles attributed to each person in the assault.
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by Additional DGP (Law and Order) SPS Parmar including Sandeep Malik Senior Superintendent of Police, Hoshiarpur and Manpreet Singh, Superintendent of Police, Rural, SAS Nagar has been constituted by the Director, Bureau of Investigation, Punjab. The SIT has been directed to conduct the investigation on day-to-day basis for collection of evidence and further legal proceedings, in order to ensure that the culprits are proceeded against as per law.
Also, instructions have been issued to DIG Patiala Range to immediately transfer the concerned police officials out of Patiala district. Meanwhile, Additional Director General of Police, Security, Punjab has been directed to provide adequate protection to the family of Colonel Bath.
Bajwa said if the Punjab government failed to do justice to Colonel Bath, the Union government should take cognizance of the matter. "The way SSP Nanak Singh handled the entire episode of police cruelty, it can be concluded that he has been shielding his men in uniform. He even failed to mention the names of the accused police personnel in the FIR. He has had a biased approach since day one. Therefore Singh must be transferred from Patiala," Bajwa said while speaking in the assembly.
