Colonel assault case: CBI drops murder bid charge; SIT accused of 'shielding' policemen

MOHALI: CBI has filed a chargesheet in a Mohali court against four Punjab Police personnel in connection with the assault on Colonel Pushpinder Bath, naming an inspector as the prime accused.

The central agency has dropped charges of attempted murder and instead invoked charges for 'causing grievous hurt' and 'wrongful restraint'. The chargesheet names inspector Ronnie Singh as 'principal accused' in the case. On the intervening night of March 13-14 this year, a group of policemen, in civilian clothes, thrashed Colonel Bath and his son over a parking dispute in Patiala.

Colonel Bath accused SIT of 'shielding' accused policemen
The Armyman and his son were standing beside their car at a roadside eatery when a group of men, later identified as cops in civilian clothes, asked him to move his vehicle to make space for theirs.

The family has alleged that this exchange escalated into violence, following which more than a dozen police personnel assaulted Colonel Bath and his son with rods and sticks, injuring both of them. The FIR was registered eight days later on the Colonel's complaint.

Initially, Patiala police named inspectors Harry Boparai, Ronnie Singh and Harjinder Dhillon in the FIR under BNS sections for attempted murder, causing hurt, wrongful restraint and criminal intimidation. Another inspector's name was added on charges of rioting and insulting a religion.

Dissatisfied with the probe, Col Bath approached Punjab and Haryana high court, which handed the case to Chandigarh Police on April 3. On July 14, the Colonel filed a petition in HC, accusing Chandigarh SIT of 'shielding' the accused cops.

On July 16, HC handed the case to CBI, remarking that Chandigarh Police probe was "tainted" and there were "no prospects of a free and fair investigation". "The court is convinced that the investigating agency is not only trying to create loopholes in the investigation but trying to make craters in the investigation so as to ensure that once the chargesheet is filed before the court, the case of the prosecution should hardly be able to crawl in court," Justice Rajesh Bhardwaj said in his scathing remarks.

Around a week after this, four accused cops, who were suspended till then, reported at their new postings. Thus far, police had told the court that all of them were "untraceable". Col Bath's family criticised the rejoining, saying the officers had 'surfaced' to avoid being declared 'proclaimed offenders' (POs).

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