Punjab: PCA prez, 5 others to face trial for murder of liquor contractor’s worker
Faridkot court frames charges against six, including four cops, for the 2016 murder that police allegedly passed off as a self-defence encounter
A Faridkot court has framed charges of murder, destruction of evidence and criminal conspiracy against Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) president and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Amarjit Mehta and five others in a 2016 murder case.
The other accused include four Punjab Police personnel — sub-inspector Lachman Singh and constables Parminder Singh, Dharminder Singh and Kabal Singh — and liquor contractor Dharampal Singh Goel. All six are on bail.
The charges were framed under Sections 302 (murder), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence), 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 506 (criminal intimidation), 148 (rioting armed with a deadly weapon) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 27 of the Arms Act. The trial will begin on August 8.
Hearing the matter on July 30, the court of additional sessions judge Dinesh Kumar Wadhwa said from the material placed before the court, a prima facie case for an offence punishable under these sections was made out against the accused.
The case pertains to the killing of kabaddi player Ajmer Singh, who worked for a liquor contractor in Faridkot, on May 25, 2016.
According to the FIR, Ajmer was portrayed as a member of the Davinder Bambiha gang and killed in a police encounter that was allegedly in self-defence.
{{/usCountry}}According to the FIR, Ajmer was portrayed as a member of the Davinder Bambiha gang and killed in a police encounter that was allegedly in self-defence.
{{/usCountry}}Allegations against the accused
Bathinda-based businessman Amarjit Mehta and his associate Dharampal Singh Goel, who was involved in the liquor business, had allegedly been pressuring liquor contractors in Faridkot to either sell their shares to them or divert their liquor quotas
Ajmer and his brother Ranjit, both kabaddi players, reportedly worked for a rival liquor contractor. Ranjit, who was also later murdered, had alleged that Mehta, Goel and the police chased and killed Ajmer.
In 2018, a judicial probe into the killing was initiated after Ajmer’s mother Manjit Kaur filed a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).
The probe by the sub-divisional judicial magistrate of Jaitu found major inconsistencies in the police account, which it held were aimed at concealing the facts behind Ajmer’s murder.
What the police claimed
The FIR filed on May 26, 2016, by then Jaitu SHO Lachman Singh stated that Ajmer, along with another armed man, opened fire on a night patrol team. In self-defence, a constable used his rifle and one of the gunshots hit Ajmer. The FIR stated that an SUV later arrived and took away the injured man.
Ajmer’s family, however, contested this, alleging that Mehta, Goel and the police officials chased and shot Ajmer dead. A murder FIR was subsequently registered on June 7, 2021.
A special investigation team (SIT), led by DSP Jatsinder Singh, later again backed police’s self-defence claim and recommended cancellation of the FIR.
Ajmer’s mother contested this and the sub-divisional judicial magistrate (SDJM) rejected the cancellation report on July 30, 2024.
The SDJM order also cited the judicial inquiry report, which found that the probe by DSP Jagdish Kumar Bishnoi was inadequate, raising suspicions that the probe was designed to protect the real culprits.
The order mentioned that the police tortured Ajmer’s brother Ranjit and filed false charges against him under the NDPS Act and Excise Act to pressure him. Ranjit was later acquitted in both cases.
The SDJM order also noted that Ajmer’s family was allegedly offered ₹35-40 lakh by SHO Lachman Singh to withdraw the case, and threatened when they refused.
