NEW DELHI—Although the Punjab Government has shamelessly continued to support the human rights criminal as Punjab DGP, Sumedh Saini, there may be a sigh of relief for Sikhs as a Delhi District Court has finally decided to resume the proceedings of a 1994 case pending against the notorious police officer. The long pending case against Saini is related to the disappearances of three people from Ludhiana who are believed to have been illegally abducted and murdered on orders from him.
The court was moved by the mother of Ashish Kumar, who is the prime witness in the 1994 case. His aged mother filed a person plea with the Supreme Court of India to pass judgement in the case before her death. In 1994, the brother of Ashish, along with his brother in-law and their driver, Mukhtiar Singh, were kidnapped under orders from Sumedh Saini.
Earlier, the Tis Hazari District Court in Delhi had to halt the proceedings and Ashish Kumar’s statement could not be recorded as some important case documents were declared missing from the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
Sikh organizations have questioned Sumedh Saini’s appointed as Punjab DGP based on his evident involvement in cases of Sikh disappearances in the 1990’s when he was stationed as SSP. Shortly after the appointment of Saini, a US based organization Voices for Freedom (VFF) filed a petition asking the Punjab and Haryana High Court to quash the illegal appointment of DGP Sumedh Saini.
VFF argues that Sumedh Saini’s appointment is in clear violation of the directives of the Supreme Court of India which were issued in two cases: Narain and Ors. vs. Union of India and Prakash Singh vs Union of India. The petition also argued that Sumedh Saini’s appointment violates the spirit of the Punjab Police Act 2007 under section 6(2)(a).
More information about the Public Interest Litigation by VFF can be found on its website – www.VoicesForFreedom.org
