13, including 11 ex-policemen, convicted in jail inmate murder case in Punjab

A court here has convicted 13 people, including 11 former policemen, in a 2014 kidnapping and murder case of a jail inmate.

Additional Sessions Judge Sandeep Singh Bajwa, while convicting them on Friday, said the quantum of punishment would be pronounced on Monday.

Those who have been convicted include former inspector Narang Singh, former assistant sub-inspectors Gulshanbir Singh and Sawinder Singh, ex-head constables Jagjit Singh, Gurpreet Singh and Lakhwinder Singh, ex-constables Makhtool Singh, Angrej Singh, Lakhwinder Singh, Amandeep Singh and Randhir Singh of the Punjab Police.

The two others are Deep Raj Singh and Jagtar Singh.

On May 5, 2014, jail inmate Bikramjit Singh, who was undergoing life imprisonment in a murder case, was taken to a government hospital here for treatment.

He was kidnapped from the hospital by a police team led by Narang Singh and taken to Batala where he was tortured inhumanely and then murdered, as per the complaint filed by victim's brother Dalbir Singh.

Following Bikramjit's abduction, police had initially registered a case against him on May 6, 2014, alleging that he escaped from the police custody from the hospital premises. But later the policemen and two others were booked for his murder.

All the accused have been held guilty under sections 302 (murder), 364 (kidnapping), 342 (wrongful confinement) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC.

The public prosecutor said a total of 14 persons were nominated in this case and one accused, identified as former ASI Baljit Singh, was declared a proclaimed offender and is yet to be arrested.