Raids in Chandigarh, Mohali to arrest former Punjab Police chief Sumedh Singh Saini in murder case, hours before he gets court’s stay

Mohali: A special investigation team (SIT), led by superintendent of police (SP) Harmandeep Singh Hans, raided the residences of former director general of police (DGP) Sumedh Singh Saini in Chandigarh and Mohali early on Friday to arrest him in connection with the murder of Balwant Singh Multani, a Chandigarh Industrial and Tourism Corporation (CITCO) employee in 1991.

The raids were conducted at Saini’s residences in Sector 20, Chandigarh, and his farmhouse in Mohali but the SIT returned empty-handed. “When we arrived to issue summons to him at his residence in Sector 20 on August 21, he was not there. The summons were pasted outside the residence. We raided his residences on Friday morning, but he was not there again. We are hopeful of arresting him soon,” an SIT member said, requesting anonymity.

Saini faces arrest for murdering Multani after the SIT added Section 302 (murder) of the IPC to the first information report against him after two co-accused turned approvers.

Around 10am, the court of additional district and sessions judge (ADJ) Rajnish Garg granted stay on the arrest till the final orders are pronounced in the case involving the disappearance and subsequent murder of Multani. The next date of hearing has been fixed for September 1.

Saini’s counsel APS Deol said: “In the orders on Thursday, the court missed the extension of the stay of arrest. Today, we approached the court, following which it granted stay on arrest till the final orders in the case are pronounced.”

On Thursday, the court reserved its orders on Saini’s anticipatory bail petition for August 29 for staying his arrest. The judge has not passed any orders on the interim stay on the arrest of the ex-DGP. Special public prosecutor Sartej Singh Narula said this meant that Saini could be arrested, as the stay on his arrest ended on August 27.

In previous orders, Garg had ordered the SIT to give three-day notice to Saini, after adding murder sections to the FIR. The three-day notice ended at 6pm on August 24 and before that Saini had filed an application seeking anticipatory bail.

Multani was allegedly picked up by two officials in 1991 after a terrorist attack on Saini, in which four policemen deputed in his security were killed. The police later claimed that Multani had escaped from its custody in Qadian, Gurdaspur.

Former DSP Baldev Singh, Satvir Singh, a former inspector, Har Sahai Sharma, Anokh Singh, a former sub inspector, besides Jagir and Kuldip Singh were named in the case.