Chandigarh | A CBI court in Mohali on Monday sentenced five former police officials to rigorous life imprisonment in a 1993 fake encounter of seven persons of Tarn Taran district and described their conduct "morally bankrupt and profoundly inhumane".
The court of CBI Special Judge Baljinder Singh Sra which pronounced the verdict also imposed a fine of Rs 3.50 lakh on each of the convict.
The court had found them guilty of criminal conspiracy, murder and destruction of evidence under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code on August 1.
The then deputy superintendent of police Bhupinderjit Singh (61), who later retired as SSP, the then assistant sub-inspector Devinder Singh (58), who retired as DSP, the then assistant sub-inspector Gulbarg Singh (72), the then Inspector Suba Singh (83) and the then ASI Raghbir Singh (63) have been sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for life.
Five other accused police officials -- the then Inspector Gurdev Singh, the then sub-inspector Gian Chand, then ASI Jagir Singh and then head constables Mohinder Singh and Aroor Singh passed away during the trial.
The court, in an order, said, "Upon consideration of the rival contentions, this court is of the view that there is no doubt regarding the sheer venality and callousness with which the convicts acted, reflecting an utter disregard for human dignity and life. Their conduct was not only unlawful, it was morally bankrupt and profoundly inhumane."
"However, in view of their advanced age and the prolonged agony endured during the course of the trial over many years, this court refrains from awarding the capital punishment," it said.
The court said Dr B R Ambedkar, the chief architect of the Indian Constitution, once said, "Rights are protected not by laws but by the social and moral conscience of society".
Regrettably, this moral consciousness has yet to be fully absorbed and reflected in the institutions of governance entrusted with the protection of people's rights, said the order.
The court said it can very well imagine the plight of their parents and family members who were running from pillar to post since the year 1993 to seek justice.
Taking into consideration all these facts and circumstances in the light of above judgment, the fine amount awarded shall be paid as compensation to their widows and legal heirs in equal proportion, said the order.
Among the seven victims, three were special police officers.
As per investigation conducted by the CBI, a police team led by the then station house officer of Sirhali police station Gurdev Singh picked up SPOs Shinder Singh, Desa Singh, Sukhdev Singh and two others Balkar Singh and Daljit Singh from the residence of a government contractor on June 27, 1993.
They were falsely implicated in a robbery case, as per the CBI probe.
Thereafter, on July 2, 1993, the Sarhali police registered a case against Shinder Singh, Desa Singh and Sukhdev Singh, claiming that they had absconded along with government-issued weapons.
On July 12, 1993, a police team led by the then DSP Bhupinderjit Singh and then Inspector Gurdev Singh claimed that while escorting one Mangal Singh to Gharka village for a recovery in the dacoity case, they were attacked by militants.
In the crossfire, Mangal Singh, Desa Singh, Shinder Singh and Balkar Singh were killed.
However, forensic analysis of seized weapons pointed to serious discrepancies and post-mortem examination reports also confirmed that the victims were tortured prior to their death, as per the probe.
Despite being identified in records, their bodies were cremated as unclaimed, as per CBI investigation.
On July 28, 1993, three more persons Sukhdev Singh, Sarabjit Singh and Harvinder Singh were killed in a staged encounter involving a police team led by the then DSP Bhupinderjit Singh, according to the CBI investigation.
The case was handed over to the CBI following a Supreme Court order on December 12, 1996 in connection with mass cremation of unidentified bodies in Punjab.
The CBI registered the case in 1999 based on the complaint of Narinder Kaur, the wife of Shinder Singh.
