HOSHIARPUR, Punjab—In the case of a fake encounter involving Kuljit Singh Dhatt, three Punjab police officers, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Basra, Jaspal Singh, and Sita Ram have been found guilty. Additional District & Sessions Judge Poonam R. Joshi on Friday awarded each of the trio a five years jail sentence. The main perpetrators in the case also included Ajit Singh Sandhu and Sardul Singh who have already died.
Kuljit Singh Dhatt was killed in a fake encounter by Police in 1989. He was the son-in-law of Shaheed Bhagat Singh’s sister Parkash Kaur. After finding Dhatt had been killed by Police extra judicially, Parkash Kaur made an appeal to the Supreme Court of India (SCI) against this fake encounter. SCI set up a Judicial Commission under the Chairmanship of Justice (Retd.) HL Randev on September, 9, 1990 who submitted the report in 1993.
Then, a case was registered against the former Superintendent of Police (SP of Operations) Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Basra, Station House Officer (SHO) Dasuya Jaspal Singh Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Dasuya Ajit Singh Sandhu, SHO Tanda Sardul Singh, and Garhdiwala Police Post Incharge Sita Ram. Ajit Singh Sandhu and Sardul Singh have died, and SPS Basra, Jaspal Singh, and Sita Ram are there to face the trial.
Jaspal Singh petitioned in High Court in July 1997, against the First Information Report (FIR) filed against him and others. The case in High Court remained pending until 2009, when the family members of Kuljit Singh Dhatt again moved SCI to seeking the Justice. Then, the Apex Court directed the High Court to run the trial which began in the court of Hoshiarpur.
