Bathinda: Judicial probe indicts CIA inspector, four staffers for custodial death
The report summed up that the cops “took Bhinder to CIA-1 at 6:58:10 PM, which led to the circumstances in which deceased was illegally kept in custody and subjected to waterboarding, leading to his death.”
A judicial probe has indicted five police personnel of the crime investigating agency (CIA)-1 of Bathinda police, including an inspector, for subjecting a villager Bhinder Singh to ‘waterboarding’, a type of severe torture, to death in custody.
Waterboarding is a notorious technique in which water is poured into the nostrils and the mouth of a victim, to evoke the sensation of asphyxiation by drowning.
In the fact-finding report filed on Tuesday, judicial magistrate first class (JMIC) Kuldeep Singh stated that inspector and CIA-1 head Navpreet Singh, head constable Rajwinder Singh, constables— Gaganpreet Singh, Harjit Singh, Jaswinder Singh— to face trial for murder, causing disappearance of evidence and other offences.
The report summed up that the cops “took Bhinder to CIA-1 at 6:58:10 PM, which led to the circumstances in which deceased was illegally kept in custody and subjected to waterboarding, leading to his death.”
They have been instructed to appear before the court on February 27.
The report (a copy of which is with HT) concluded that Bhinder was kept by the CIA team in custody illegally and then they tried to fabricate the alleged murder into an accidental drowning.
The judicial findings relied upon the digital, and forensic evidence, documents and a statement of a doctor to rubbish the police theory that Bhinder died due to drowning at a lake of the defunct Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Power Plant in the city area.
{{/usCountry}}The judicial findings relied upon the digital, and forensic evidence, documents and a statement of a doctor to rubbish the police theory that Bhinder died due to drowning at a lake of the defunct Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Power Plant in the city area.
{{/usCountry}}The judicial officer also pointed out that the station-house officer of Thermal police station, investigating officer Gurpreet Singh and the deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Saravjeet Singh “did not perform their duties and did not launch the investigation into the allegations by bringing the same on record, promptly. Rather they allowed the matter to be swept under the carpet.”
{{/usCountry}}The judicial officer also pointed out that the station-house officer of Thermal police station, investigating officer Gurpreet Singh and the deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Saravjeet Singh “did not perform their duties and did not launch the investigation into the allegations by bringing the same on record, promptly. Rather they allowed the matter to be swept under the carpet.”
{{/usCountry}}“It is noted that during the inquiry even the suspect police officials remained posted at CIA-1 only, whereas they were supposed to be transferred during the pendency of the inquiry,” reads the report.
{{/usCountry}}“It is noted that during the inquiry even the suspect police officials remained posted at CIA-1 only, whereas they were supposed to be transferred during the pendency of the inquiry,” reads the report.
{{/usCountry}}On October 17 late at night, CIA chief Navpreet deposited the body of Bhinder at the Shaheed Bhai Mani Singh Civil Hospital.
As per the daily diary report (DDR) recorded at the Thermal police station, the CIA team was looking for Baljinder Singh alias Billa, who was accused of a crime reported in 2021 and as per tip-off was Bhinder’s brothers Satnam Singh’s residence.
Police records state that the CIA personnel learnt about the possible movement of two persons identified as Billa and Bhinder, who was wanted in cases registered at Nehianwala police station near the thermal plant lakes.
“Inspector Navpreet Singh along with the police party reached near thermal plant lakes where they spotted Billa and Bhinder. Seeing the police party, Bhinder jumped into the lake while the other accused fled from the spot on his motorcycle. The inspector with the help of the police party tried to rescue him (Bhinder) and took him out of the water. He (Bhinder) was taken to a civil hospital, where he was declared dead. The body was deposited in the mortuary of the civil hospital, Bathinda,” the record further reads.
As the family learnt about Bhinder’s death, relatives of the deceased protested on October 18 and alleged it as a custodial death.
The same day, an advocate Surya Kant Singla sent emails to the Punjab and Haryana high court and Bathinda senior superintendent of police for conducting an autopsy by a board of doctors.
Meanwhile, the deceased’s brother Satnam Singh, who is lodged in Ferozepur central prison, on October 19 last year wrote to sessions judge, Ferozepur, alleging that his brother was “illegally detained, interrogated, and tortured to death by the police” after which the complaint was forwarded to Bathinda district and sessions judge for an inquiry.
In his report, the judicial officer found a police DDR report on October 19 “interesting as deceased’s father Darshan Singh made a (police) statement that his son Bhinder jumped in the thermal lake and died naturally.”
It was alleged that Bhinder, a resident of Lakhi Jungle village in Bathinda, was picked up by the CIA-1 team for a case of allegedly possessing an illegal weapon on October 17.
Though the police denied keeping him in custody, the judicial report relied upon circumstantial evidence to nail the cops.
CDR, post-mortem bust police claims
The report found that the call detail records (CDR) of the mobile phone of the deceased and inspector Navpreet were active at Buladewala village at around the same time on October 17 evening. Records suggest that the last recorded tower location of Bhinder’s mobile was noted active at 6:04:10 PM.
CCTV footage at the CIA office “transpired that the deceased was kept illegally in CIA-1, in the area, which was not covered under CCTV cameras from 6:58:10 PM to 09:34 PM. A vehicle (used by the CIA) remained parked in the aforesaid area not covered under CCTV cameras and eventually left CIA-1 premises at 09:34 PM. The suspicious incident happened during that period of time at 09:11:50 PM,” stated the report.
The probe also highlighted a delay in an autopsy by concluding that “it appears that a delay of two days in conducting the post-mortem was due to the allegations and police trying to make the family members furnish statement favourable to CIA-1.”
Fact-finding judicial probe found another clinching evidence in the statement of senior medical officer (SMO) Dr Gurmail Singh who deposed that “on October 20, he was informed by the police officials of CIA-1 that due to allegations against them, they were not ready with papers for conducting the post-mortem.
The SMO further said that he was informed later by CIA-1 police officials, whom he can recognise, that now the matter has been sorted out with the family of deceased Bhinder Singh and the police are ready to get the post-mortem conducted.”
The report puts veteran forensic expert Dr Deep Rattan on record as “it appears that the police official deliberately did not make a request for constituting a board of doctors for autopsy and for examination of viscera. The forensic expert also expressed that in the present case, the diatom test was necessary to show that Bhinder died of drowning at a particular water source.”
As per the post-mortem report, Bhinder died due to “asphyxia due to ante-mortem drowning.”
Dr Rattan was quoted again on the autopsy as “it does not suggest that deceased jumped into the thermal lake as alleged by the CIA-1 or died by drowning at a water source. It merely suggests that the deceased died of asphyxia caused by water in the trachea/larynx.”
