Two Punjab Ex-Cops Convicted for 1993 Fake Encounter Case

A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court convicted two former Panjab police personnel for a 1993 fake encounter in Tarn Taran. The Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar-based court sentenced former Station House Officer, 80-years-old Sita Ram for life under murder charges and former constable, 57-years-old Rajpal five years in prison, while five others were acquitted. Four accused had died during trial. The victims, Gurdev Singh and Sukhwant Singh, were abducted separately, declared hardened criminals, and falsely reported killed on 6 Feb 1993. Their bodies were cremated as ‘unclaimed,’ prompting a Supreme Court of India-ordered CBI probe that revealed fabricated evidence. A fabricated First Information Report was filed at the Patti police station to cover up the crime. Initially, the police falsely claimed that the victims were involved in 300 cases of serious crimes, including murder and extortion. The CBI investigation debunked these claims. Sita Ram had previously been convicted in another encounter case but was acquitted on appeal in 2009. Rajbir Singh, the son of one of the victims Sukhwant Singh, ironically serves as a Panjab police constable. He said he cannot condemn the entire force for past abuses. He and his mother Mohinder Kaur plan to challenge the acquittals, saying they still yearn for full justice thirty years later. Most of these cases were filed between 1992–94, and convictions were of non-officers. Separately, an Amritsar court dropped murder attempt charges in a 2019 ‘encounter’ where the Special Task Force (STF) claimed its then chief, Harpreet Singh Sidhu, escaped gunfire at a roadside dhaba (eatery). Three accused drug smugglers were convicted under forgery and illegal-arms sections after the judge found no ballistic examinations and proof that the policemen sustained injury. Lawyer Jaspal Singh Manjhpur, representing the accused, contended that high-profile STF operations highlight recurring questions about extrajudicial methods and police narrative reliability (earlier coverage).