Fake Encounter: CBI court convicts three Punjab police officers for trio's 'murder' in 1992

Three Punjab Police officers were found guilty by a special CBI court on Friday for their involvement in a 31-year-old false encounter case that resulted in the deaths of three young men. The sentencing for this case is scheduled for September 14. Justice R K Gupta, in his ruling, determined that the police encounter that occurred in May 1992 was fabricated and convicted three police officers on charges of conspiracy, murder, and falsification of records. A total of nine police officers were implicated in this case. Out of the nine, three were convicted on Friday, while one has been declared a fugitive. The remaining officers passed away during the course of the legal proceedings. The individuals who were found guilty include former inspector Dharam Singh, along with ASIs Surinder Singh and Gurdev Singh. Former ASI Bhupinder Singh was declared a fugitive, as stated by Ashok Bagoria, the public prosecutor representing the CBI. According to the CBI, Harjit Singh, Lakhwinder Singh, and Jaspinder Singh lost their lives in a staged encounter on May 12, 1992. Shortly after Harjit’s disappearance, his father approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court, alleging that the police had taken his son into custody on April 29, 1992, near the Thathian bus stop in the Amritsar district. Harjit was said to have been illegally detained at the Mall Mandi interrogation center. In response, the high court appointed a warrant officer to secure his release, but this officer was unable to locate Harjit at the Mall Mandi interrogation center. In December 1992, the high court ordered a judicial investigation into the matter, carried out by the district and sessions judge in Chandigarh, who submitted a report in 1995. Finally, in 1997, the high court transferred the case’s investigation to the CBI, which formally registered a case in 1998. The CBI’s investigation revealed that Harjit was abducted on April 29, 1992, from the Thathian bus stop by individuals named Daljit Singh, also known as Motu, Satbir Singh, and one other person. They were subsequently killed on May 12, 1992, in a fake encounter conducted by a police team led by SI Dharam Singh, who was then the SHO of the Lopoke police station. Shockingly, the bodies of the victims were not returned to their families and were cremated by the police as unclaimed.