Former SHO convicted in 32-year-old kidnapping, illegal confinement case

A special CBI court in Mohali today convicted former Sarhali SHO Surinderpal Singh, 62, in a 32-year-old kidnapping, illegal confinement and disappearance case of Sukhdev Singh and his father-in-law Sulakhan Singh, 80, a freedom fighter.

Though quantum of sentence would be pronounced on December 23, his co-accused ASI Avtar Singh died during the trial.

Accused Surinderpal has been undergoing life imprisonment in human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra murder case. He has also been sentenced for 10 years in another case in which four family members of Jeo Bala village of Tarn Taran were kidnapped and later their whereabouts couldn’t be ascertained.

Sukhdev Singh, who was a vice principal at Government Senior Secondary School, Lopoke, Amritsar, and his father-in-law Sulakhan, who was a close associate of Baba Sohan Singh Bhakna during the Independence movement, were picked up by the Tarn Taran police from their house in Ghanupur Kale of Amritsar.

Cops informed the family that both were called by SHO Surinderpal for questioning on October 31,1992. Both were kept illegally in the police station for three days where their family and members of the teachers’ union provided them food and clothes but later they could not be traced.

Complainant Sukhwant Kaur, wife of Sukhdev, complained to higher authorities apprehending their implication in criminal cases but no avail.

Even former MLAs Satya Pal Dang and Vimla Dang also wrote to then CM Beant Singh, who responded that they were not in the police custody.

In 2003, police personnel contacted Sukhwant and got her signature on blank papers and gave her the death certificate of Sukhdev dated 8/7/1993.

It was informed to the family that Sukhdev died due to torture and his dead body alongwith Sulakhan, who was alive, were thrown in Harike canal, said Jai Hind Patel, Public Prosecutor, CBI.

Though complainant Sukhwant moved the Supreme Court and the Punjab and Haryana High Court, in November 1995, the apex court directed the CBI to investigate the matter of cremation of large scale bodies by the Punjab Police as unclaimed after being exposed by Khalra.

During preliminary inquiry, the CBI also recorded statement of Sukhwant on November 20, 1996, and on the basis of her statement on March 6, 1997, registered a regular case against Avtar, Surinderpal, the then SHO Sarhali, and others under Section 364/34 of the IPC.

In 2000, the CBI filed a closure report which was rejected by the CBI court in Patiala. In 2002, the court ordered further investigation.

In 2009, the CBI filed a chargesheet against Surinderpal and Avtar but charges under Section 120-B, 342,364 and 365 of the IPC were framed in 2016 as case was stayed by the higher courts on petitions of accused, which were later on dismissed.

During delayed trial, 14 prosecutions and nine defence witnesses had recorded their statements in the CBI court, Mohali.

Sukhdev’s wife said her son Baljinder Singh was killed in a fake encounter after her husband and father were picked up by the police.