Murder of Bhagat Singh’s kin by Punjab Police in 1989: statement recorded

Hoshiarpur, Punjab: The three Punjab police cops whose names figure in the FIR registered in the infamous Kuljit Singh Dhatt elimination case, on Wednesday appeared in the court of additional session judge JS Bhinder, where a trial had begun in February, nearly 22 years after the alleged crime.

Dhatt, a kin of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, was picked by the Hoshiarpur police on July 23, 1989 from Garhi village under Garhdiwala police station and was never to be seen thereafter. His family believes that the cops tortured him to death. Following long legal proceedings, a case was registered in December 1996 against five cops.

The trial in the session court began after the Punjab and Haryana High Court dismissed the petition of the accused, which they had filed against the state government for the ‘wrong’ procedure adopted to sanction their prosecution.

Two of the police officers namely have died while SP S Basra, Jaspal Singh and Sita Ram are facing trial.

Two witnesses appeared in the court on Wednesday on behalf of the petitioners. Gurmit Singh, a former sarpanch of Jaja village, got his statement recorded whereas Garhi village sarpanch Gurmail prayed that since he was not medically fit, his statement must be recorded on the next date. The court fixed April 30 as the next date of hearing.

Source: HT