The current assault on a serving Colonel and his son by three Punjab Police inspectors together with 9 different police personnel in Patiala attracts robust parallels to a 33-year-old incident when a serving lieutenant colonel was assaulted in Chandigarh by the then senior superintendent of police (SSP), Sumedh Singh Saini. In distinction to the swift motion taken by the Military and Punjab authorities in that earlier episode, there was a notable inaction within the newest case because the accused policemen haven’t even been named within the First Data Report (FIR).
The Western Command headquarters of the Military launched a weak assertion, seemingly praising the Punjab Police for conducting an investigation into the assault on Colonel Pushpinder Singh Batth and his son. Nonetheless, no senior Military officer has publicly condemned the incident nor demanded a speedy investigation.
Off the file, Military officers at Western Command have indicated that the Military has taken a stern stand, urging the Punjab Police high brass to take speedy motion in opposition to the policemen who attacked the Colonel and his son allegedly with baseball bats and sharp-edged weapons on the night time of March 13-14.
When informed that there was a notion amongst defence officers concerning Western Command’s lack of robust motion within the matter, an officer stated, “We are able to guarantee you that we made it very clear to the state authorities and the police in robust phrases that we anticipate the regulation to take its course. We will be sure that issues might be taken to their logical conclusion”.
Compared, a joint investigation was performed by a Brigadier (Brigadier Ashok Chaki) and a DIG (NS Aulakj) into the October 1992 incident the place Sumedh Singh Saini, then the SSP of Chandigarh, assaulted Lieutenant-Colonel Ravi Vats. The episode unfolded when Vats, who was on depart from his posting in Leh and staying at his residence in Chandigarh’s Sector 7, stepped out to analyze gunshots he heard close by. These gunshots have been initially regarded as associated to a doable militant assault on Saini’s bodyguard, Head Constable Raj Kumar. Vats, wearing civilian garments, encountered Saini and his safety crew throughout this commotion.
It was reported that there was an altercation when Saini requested the onlookers to clear the realm to which the Military officer refused to oblige. This led to an assault by the SSP and his safety personnel on the Military officer. The police contended that the Lt Colonel was in civilian garments and had not recognized himself. As soon as Vats established his identification on the police station, he was handled with respect, the Chandigarh Police stated.
Following the assault, Vats was taken into custody and held at a police station in a single day, an motion later deemed unlawful.
Story continues under this advert
The incident sparked outrage inside the Military, which considered it as an egregious overreach by the police in opposition to one among its officers. It escalated into a major confrontation between the Military and the Chandigarh Police. The Military lodged robust protests, citing a number of prior cases of police high-handedness in opposition to its personnel in Punjab, the place army forces have been deployed to help in countering militancy.
Lt Gen Bipin Chandra Joshi, who later grew to become the Chief of Military Employees, was then the Western Military Commander and is discovered to have personally spoken to the then Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh and Governor Surendra Nath. In response to the mounting stress, a joint investigation was ordered by Punjab Governor Surendra Nath, comprising a Deputy Inspector Common of Police and an Military Brigadier. The inquiry resulted in separate experiences, with the Military’s findings holding Saini accountable for misconduct.
The incident led to Saini’s eventual elimination from the Chandigarh SSP publish in early 1993 and repatriation to his mother or father cadre, Punjab. The Punjab authorities reverted him to his mother or father cadre in Punjab and contemplated disciplinary motion, marking a uncommon occasion of accountability for a police officer recognized for his aggressive techniques throughout Punjab’s militancy period.
These twin episodes, greater than three many years aside, underscore the inherent tensions between army and police forces and spotlight issues over the conduct of policemen.
© The Indian Categorical Pvt Ltd
