Probe incomplete, reports pending: Punjab Police miss 90-day chargesheet deadline in border outpost murders
Meanwhile, the mother of one of the key accused, who was shot dead in an encounter, has filed an application in another court levelling allegations against the Gurdaspur police.
Police cordon off the spot where the two bodies were found at the checkpoint in Gurdaspur district. (Express Photo) The police in Punjab’s Gurdaspur have sought an extension to complete the investigation into the February killing of two policemen at a border check post in a village, citing 13 pending investigative tasks as the reason for the delay.
Meanwhile, the mother of one of the accused, who was shot dead in an encounter, has filed an application in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM), Gurdaspur, levelling allegations against the police.
In the application filed before the Gurdaspur District Session Court on May 20, the Additional Public Prosecutor said the chargesheet cannot be filed within the prescribed 90-day window.
“The following investigative points are still pending: to determine which gang/organisation the accused are connected to. The FSL (Forensic Science Lab) report on the electronic documents seized from the accused is still pending. In the said case, there is a large amount of electronic data which requires considerable time to examine. It must be established that the accused are linked with other states outside Punjab,” the APP said.
Other reasons
The application also stated that the alleged funding of crores of rupees in the case must be traced, and that its source and the manner in which it was arranged need to be ascertained. It must also be determined whether the accused committed unlawful activities at the behest of individuals or groups based in other states. The bank account details of all the accused are still pending collection.
While one accused is yet to be arrested, and the linkage between the arrested accused and the absconding accused is still under investigation, it added. Information regarding the accused’s social media, email, and Instagram accounts has also not yet been gathered.
“This investigation application has been read by me personally and independently, and in my opinion, the investigation of this case cannot be completed within 90 days. Therefore, it is appropriate to extend the remaining investigation by 90 days,” the APP added.
The bodies of policemen, Gurnam Singh and Ashok Kumar, were found at the border check post in Adian village near the Pakistan border on February 22.
The police arrested the main accused, Ranjit Singh, and Dilawar Singh alias Dil, on February 24. The accused were booked under Section 103 of the BNS, Sections 25, 27, and 54–59 of the Arms Act, and multiple serious sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) 1967, including Sections 13, 14, 16, 17, 18-B, 19, 20, 35, 40, and 43.
However, on February 25, Ranjit Singh was killed in an alleged police encounter after he allegedly attempted to flee.
Allegations against Gurdaspur police
Meanwhile, the family of Ranjit Singh has accused senior police officers of threatening witnesses, tampering with evidence, and deliberately flouting two court orders to derail the judicial inquiry into his death.
In her application, Ranjit’s mother, Sukhjinder Kaur, alleged that witnesses Chandanjit Singh and Surjit Kaur are being continuously threatened, with the threat that they and their family members will be implicated in false cases. It further alleges that Inspector Gurmeet Singh, the main officer who led Ranjit Singh’s encounter, conspired to falsely implicate witness Harwinder Singh in a criminal case, a matter already brought to the notice of the Gurdaspur sessions judge.
The application also alleges that senior police officers are now attempting to falsely connect other bomb blasts, arms, and terror-related cases to Ranjit Singh’s killing in order to justify the encounter and influence the judicial proceedings of the inquiry court.
“The police are threatening them that they will be implicated in the same case if they don’t turn hostile,” human rights activist and lawyer Sarabjit Singh Verka claimed.
A senior Gurdaspur police officer denied the allegations. “There is no truth in such allegations. The police are doing their job professionally,” the police officer said.
So far, the police have arrested three women, two key accused, Inderjit Singh alias Sahu and Sarvan Singh alias Billy, and another accused, Sukhshinder Singh alias Heera.
Share
