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Cops had kidnapped, murdered jail inmate, admit Punjab Police Amritsar, May 15 Addressing a press conference in Amritsar, Police Commissioner Jatinder Singh Aulakh confirmed the macabre murder and said 13 persons, including 12 policemen, had been booked on charges of kidnapping, murder, destroying evidence and criminal conspiracy. Seven of them have been arrested. His body was cremated by the Ropar police as unclaimed. The body was recovered by the Kiratpur police on May 8 and was kept for five days for identification before being cremated on May 13. Among those arrested include ASI Gulshanbir Singh (who had surrendered before a court), ASI Surinder Singh and head constables Amandeep Singh and Lakhwinder Singh. The police have also arrested head constables Angrej Singh, Randhir Singh and Maktool Singh who were guarding Bikramjit Singh during his recuperation period at the GNDH. Among those absconding include tainted police officer Naurang Singh, ASI Baljit Singh, head constables Gurpreet Singh, Jagjit Singh, Lakhwinder Singh, all posted at Batala, besides Jagtar Singh, who is a police tout working for Naurang Singh. The police commissioner, however, gave a clean chit to SS Mand, AIG counter-intelligence at Ludhiana, stating that the Special Investigating Team (SIT) headed by ADCP HS Brar did not find his role in the incident. He said the accused had not informed their higher-ups, including Mand, about the kidnapping and murder of Bikramjit. Narrating the turn of events, Aulakh said that during the interrogation of ASIs Gulshanbir and Surinder Singh, it came to light that Bikramjit had become a drug addict. Head constables Amandeep (who was also an addict) and Lakhwinder were known to Bikramjit as they had been guarding him for long. According to the police, the police guards provided to Bikramjit during his stay in hospital were hand in glove with him. As a result, he not only used to roam about freely but was also indulging in drug trade. The police maintain that Gulshanbir and other Counter-Intelligence cops laid a trap to catch him red-handed and engaged Amandeep for the job. Amandeep then gave Rs 1.22 lakh to Bikramjit on May 5 to supply heroin near the Mall Mandi area. The Commissioner said, “Within an hour, Bikramjit Singh reached Chamrang Road in his SUV bearing number PB-38-H-9840 where Gulshanbir, Surinder Singh, Baljit Singh, Jagjit Singh, Gurpreet Singh and Jagtar Singh were present.” He said that Bikramjit deliberately threw the heroin consignment inside the vehicle on realising that it was a trap. Subsequently, the accused policemen took him to a private place in Batala. Inspector Naurang Singh also joined them there. “They tortured him brutally and, as a result, he died. They took his body towards Anandpur Sahib and threw it in the Bhakra Canal,” Aulakh said. On May 8, the body was found in a section of the canal falling in the jurisdiction of the Kiratpur police. The police kept the body for five days, cremated it on May 13 and immersed the ashes in Kiratpur Sahib on May 14. About the victim Bikramjit Singh was convicted of murdering an Akali leader in broad daylight at Tarn Taran's Algo Kothi village in 2002. Bikramjit, who would have completed his jail term in a couple of months, was admitted to an Amritsar hospital with an orthopaedic problem. He “disappeared” on May 5 Family rejects police theory, seeks CBI probe Amritsar: Dalbir Singh, brother of Bikramjit Singh, a jail inmate who was kidnapped and murdered by police personnel of the Counter-Intelligence Wing, on Thursday rejected the police theory and denied his involvement in drug peddling as was being projected by the police. Demanding a CBI probe into the case, the family members also sought the inclusion of SS Mand, AIG Counter Intelligence posted at Ludhiana, and kin of Gurdial Singh in the investigation. Gurdial Singh, an Akali leader, and four others were shot dead in 2002. Bikramjit Singh was one of the four convicts in the case. Dalbir Singh told The Tribune, “Since his disappearance on May 5, we have been saying that he was kidnapped by the policemen at the behest of Budhiraj Singh and Naunihal Singh, kin of Gurdial Singh.” He claimed that he, along with his relative, was going to the hospital when they saw Bikramjit being kidnapped by several policemen at the hospital gate on May 5. He said they followed them and reached close to a private hospital on the GT Road. He said they spotted the policemen thrashing his brother.
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