Court frames murder, kidnapping charges against DGP, 3 others

A local court today framed charges of murder and kidnapping against Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) S K Sharma and three other former policemen in a 24-year-old case of alleged kidnapping and murder of a youth.
The other accused in the case are former DIG SPS Basra, the then ASI Gurcharan Singh and the then SHO of the Morinda police station Balkar Singh.
Districts and Sessions Judge Amarjot Bhatti fixed July 14 as the next date of hearing after framing the charges and ordered the prosecution to produce evidence against all the accused on that day.
Charges against all the accused were framed under IPC Sections 364 (kidnapping), 302 (murder), 201 (destroying evidence), 120 B (criminal conspiracy) and 34 (common intention).

All the four accused were present during the proceedings today.
The court also rejected the application of DGP S K Sharma seeking exemption from personal appearance.

On May 6, Additional District and Sessions court had referred the case to District and Sessions court for framing of charges against the accused.
Kuldeep Singh (21), along with his cousin Jasmeet Kaur, went to Morinda to get medicines from a doctor on October 24, 1990.
"He was allegedly picked up by the police in a white colour van, which was bearing a number plate of police," according to the complaint filed by his father.

After police showed Kuldeep untraceable in its report, his father Ajaib Singh had approached the court.