CHANDIGARH, Punjab—Punjab and Harayna High Court has reserved its decision in the case of Bhai Jaspal Singh Chaur Sidhwan (Gurdaspur) who was gunned down by Punjab Police during a peaceful protest being held against possible hanging of Bhai Balwant Singh Rajoana.
The incident took place on 29 March 2012 in which the Punjab police had started firing, targeting a gathering of Sikh youths protesting peacefully in Gurdaspur. The targetted firing left Bhai Jaspal Singh deceased, while another Sikh guy Ranjit Singh was seriously injured.
A division bench of Punjab and Haryana High Court comprising Chief Justice Ashutosh Mohanta and H. S. Sidhu was hearing arguments for last two days on final report submitted by the state in this case.
At initial stage, the Punjab police had claimed that Jaspal Singh was not hit by a bullet fired from Punjab police’s weapons but was hit by a bullet supposedly fired from a private A.K. 47. The forensic laboratory report established the fact, however, that Jaspal Singh was hit by a bullet fired from Punjab police A. K. 47.
The Punjab government, in its final report, had absolved Punjab police officers of any responsibility for the killing of Jaspal Singh Gurdaspur saying that the police personnel had fired the bullets in air that might have changed its direction and then hit Jaspal Singh. The final decision of the court is likely to be pronounced in coming days.
