Punjab Government faces heat over Lawrence Bishnoi interviews; SIT says first talk was at Kharar CIA

Saurabh Malik

Chandigarh, August 7

Nearly nine months after the Punjab and Haryana High Court described “known criminal” Lawrence Bishnoi’s in-custody interview as “glorifying crime and criminals” and a matter of grave concern, a special investigation team (SIT) constituted by it has revealed that the first interview was conducted at the Kharar CIA premises, followed by another in Rajasthan.

The revelation has caused embarrassment for the government. A two-member high-powered committee, initially constituted by the State, had claimed it was “highly improbable” that the interviews were held either in jail or police custody in the state.

The Division Bench of Justice Anupinder Singh Grewal and Justice Lapita Banerji asserted that the committee took almost eight months to arrive at an inconclusive finding. “If it was an attempt to hoodwink the court or misdirect the proceedings of the court, it would be a serious matter and would be considered at an appropriate stage,” the Bench asserted.

The court made it clear that the “black sheep has to be identified and brought to the book at the earliest” while expressing “hope and trust” that the SIT investigation would not be confined to “lower level officials” and they were not made scapegoat while protecting the higher officers.

Punjab Chief Secretary was also directed to render all possible assistance to the SIT. The direction came as the Bench “hastened to add that Punjab Police is one of the best police force in the country but it needs to be insulated from extraneous influence”.

The Bench also asked the state’s Director-General of Police to furnish the details of criminal cases, especially relating to extortion/threatening calls, calls for ransom, abduction and intimidation of witnesses, from March 2023 – after the interviews were aired – till removal in December 2023. He was asked to compare the figures with the nine months preceding the interviews’ broadcast.

The Bench in December last had directed the registration of two FIRs to be probed by the SIT while observing that the interviewee was involved in 71 cases in Punjab and convicted in four matters, including offences under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 302 of the IPC and extortions. He was justifying target killings and his criminal activities, while reiterating and justifying threat to a film actor. The trials were under way in a large number of cases and attempt to project his persona as larger than life could influence the witnesses. “Punjab is a border state and any deterioration in law and order or increase in crime could affect the national security as at times, anti-national elements take advantage of the situation and often use criminals for their nefarious designs. They often get help from across the border. There is a thin line between extortion, target killings and anti–national activities. The conduct of the interviews is an apparent jail security breach and violation of the Prisons Act. The interviews have been telecast for the last nine months and are available on public domain,” the Bench had added.