Patiala, August 04: The CBI court of Punjab acquitted retired Superintendent of Police Mohinder Singh Sidhu and DSP Kishan Singh for their involvement in an alleged fake encounter in 1990 for lack of evidence.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court had directed CBI to probe the matter.
Sidhu was then posted as SHO of Kathunangal police station of Amritsar district and Kishan Singh was an ASI attached with him.
The case is related to the disappearance of Sukhwinder Singh alias Neeta of Chavinda Devi village falling under the police station on August 27, 1990.
Neeta’s brother Bhupinder Singh wrote to various government officials and also to the Chief Justice of India alleging that the police had illegally picked up his brother and killed him in a fake encounter.
The HC had ordered an inquiry, conducted by then ADC of Amritsar Harbhupinder Singh Nanda, who confirmed the disappearance but concluded that no one from the police could be pinpointed as possibly being behind the alleged encounter.
The family again moved the HC, which then directed an inquiry by the sessions judge of Jalandhar, J P Gupta, whose findings were similar.
On receiving the third petition, the High Court asked the CBI to investigate. It held both the police officers guilty and registered a case of murder and kidnapping with intent to murder.
CBI had filled a challan in the special CBI court for trial. Both the accused were, however, acquitted of the charges due to lack of evidence.
Defence pleaded that in the two inquiries no name of any police officer was mentioned.
Defence counsel S S Kler told the court that Sukhwinder had links with terrorist outfits and police parties used to visit his house regularly, “and as Mohinder Singh Sidhu was SHO of the police station, the family took his name”.
He also took the plea that since the body of Sukhwinder was not traced, it could not be ascertained whether he was dead or alive.
–Agencies