M A I N   N E W S

Poohla case: 3 acquitted for lack of evidence
PK Jaiswar
Tribune News Service

Amritsar, May 19
Three of the six persons accused of killing Nihang chief Ajit Singh Poohla were today acquitted for lack of evidence by the District Sessions court.

After several witnesses turned hostile, Justice Gurbir Singh today acquitted Navtej Singh, Harchand Singh and Harpreet Singh.

Other three accused had already been acquitted in the past for lack of evidence.

Poohla, who was facing trial for rape, murder and other heinous crimes, was set ablaze allegedly by Navtej and Harchand in the high-security Amritsar Central Jail on August 28, 2008. They allegedly took diesel from the generator of the jail and sprinkled it in the cell where Poohla was lodged. Thereafter, they allegedly set him ablaze. He sustained around 70 per cent burn injuries on his face and chest and died at PGIMER in Chandigarh a day after the attack.

Defence council Advocate Dilbagh Singh Attari said he had argued that Poohla had committed suicide as he was depressed due to several criminal cases registered against him. He said there were nearly 24 witnesses in the case who later turned hostile.

Another advocate Amarpal Singh Randhawa from the defence council pointed out that Poohla had not given his statement to the police against the accused. “Usually, a person who sustains burn injuries is fit to give statement. If the accused had tried to kill him, he would have recorded his statement,” he said.

Radical Sikh outfit Dal Khalsa hailed the decision and said justice had finally prevailed. Ajit Singh Poohla was dreaded in the border belt of Punjab during militancy.

However, he had extended support to the security agencies and, therefore, was on the hit list of militants those days. He had once enjoyed a high-security cover with 42 official gunmen and 77 sophisticated weapons.

The Nihang chief was arrested on May 13, 2008, from Darhewal Kotli village in connection with the murder of seven members of the family of one Joga Singh, a resident of Khanpur village.