Chandigarh SP to head probe in Col Bath assault case

Days after the Punjab and Haryana high court (HC) ordered transfer of the investigation into the assault on Colonel Pushpinder Singh Bath by a few policemen in Patiala to Chandigarh Police, superintendent of police (SP) Manjeet Sheoran (AGMUT-cadre IPS, 2015) has been appointed as the inquiry officer.

The single-judge bench of Justice HS Brar had on April 3 transferred the case, expressing dissatisfaction over the delay in FIR registration and lack of action against the accused cops in Punjab. The court had ordered the Chandigarh director general of police (DGP) to entrust the investigation to an IPS officer posted in the Union Territory, belonging to the AGMUT cadre, within a week. The investigating officer has to conclude the investigation within four months.

SP Manjeet Sheoran holds the charge of intelligence, headquarters, economic offences wing, assistant commandant general of home guards, and communication. He has served in Bihar, Delhi, Andaman & Nicobar and has been a part of several special investigation teams.

Seeking transfer of the investigation of the FIR registered under Sections 109, 310, 115(2), 117(1), 117(2), 126(2), 351(2) and 190 of the BNS at the Patiala civil lines police station, the petitioner had sought that the investigation be conducted by an IPS not belonging to the Punjab cadre.

Earlier hearings by Justice Sandeep Moudgil had witnessed stern observations from the bench, questioning delay by the Punjab Police and also lack of accountability. On Thursday, the matter was taken up by Justice HS Brar, who gave Punjab the option to have the case investigated either by the CBI, the Chandigarh Police or an SIT. Eventually, the bench ordered directed the Chandigarh Police to take over the probe.

The case pertains to an alleged assault on Colonel Bath and his son outside an eatery in Patiala on March 13-14 night over a parking dispute. According to the colonel’s petition, he was brutally thrashed by four inspectors and several armed subordinates of Punjab Police, who also snatched his identity card and mobile phone besides allegedly threatening him with a fake encounter. His wife Jasvinder Kaur was later pressurised by the accused to reach a compromise, the petition mentioned. The colonel has claimed that some cops admitted during a video call that they were intoxicated at the time of the incident.

Despite being the first to report the incident, an FIR was initially registered based on the statement of the eatery owner. It was only on March 22 that a fresh FIR was registered on the colonel’s complaint.