Jo hona tha ho gaya,chaar paise le aur ghar ja: Senior cop to road mishap victim’s father

“S S Srivastava,the then SSP,offered me Rs 2.5 lakh to withdraw the case. When I refused,he told me to go to hell. He told me,‘Jo hona tha ho gaya,chaar paise le aur ghar ja (what had to happen has happened,take the money and go home),’” Balwinder told Newsline.

Balwinder was then approached by a deputy superintendent of police (DSP) who too had made the same offer. “The DSP,in front of many people including mediapersons,told me to withdraw the case as according to him I would only stand to loose,” Balwinder added.

He said that when he turned down the offer to accept the money,he was intimidated. “When I told them that I would approach the High Court,they told me that they are not scared of any Court of law,” the father said. Holding back his tears,Balwinder,a resident of Faridkot,said,“Gagandeep was my only son. How could I strike a deal with those who murdered my son? They even forced me to sign blank papers to testify that I had entered into a compromise with them.”

Recounting the memories of his 21-year-old son Gagandeep,Balwinder said that he (Gagandeep) was to fly to Canada a fortnight later. “I had filled his fees; he was all set to fly to Vancouver. But just a fortnight before his planned departure,he was killed. These police officers even threatened me to change my statements so that Bhullar could be saved,” rued Balwinder.

On July 21,Justice Daya Chaudhary ordered a reinvestigation into the case. Mincing no words in admonishing Chandigarh Police for its “laxity” and attempt to “shield” Bhullar,Justice Chaudhary handed over the reinvestigation of the case to Haryana Police. The Haryana Director General of Police (DGP) was asked to depute two officers of the rank of IPS to probe the matter and submit a report within three months.

The High Court had ordered that the probe would not only look into the allegations of rash and negligent driving alleged against Bhullar but also into whether he had committed culpable homicide not amounting to murder. Moreover,the probe would look into whether Bhullar had “destroyed evidence” or “exerted influence over the investigating agency” and managed to “secure the FIR against the victims”.

The Court had further ordered that “the investigating officers shall also examine the role of officers in affirming the investigation conducted in the case”. The allegations against Bhullar are that not only did he first allegedly hit two motorcycle-borne youths,one of whom (Gagandeep) succumbed to his injuries,but he then registered a case against the deceased. To top it all,Bhullar had then made himself the complainant and closed the case,terming it “untraced”.