Two Punjab Police cops convicted in 1993 abduction case

A CBI court here on Wednesday convicted two policemen in a 1993 case of abduction and wrongful confinement of a Patiala man, and sentenced one of them to six years in jail.

The court of Special CBI Judge N S Gill held guilty Inspector Joginder Singh (retd) under Section 365 (abduction) and Section 344 (wrongful confinement) of the IPC, and constable Jagjit Singh was convicted under Section 218 (preparing incorrect record) of the IPC.

Joginder Singh was sentenced to six years in jail for abduction and two years for wrongful confinement. His sentence would run concurrently.

Constable Jagjit Singh was awarded one year in jail but he was released on probation after furnishing surety of Rs 10,000, Sarabjit Singh, counsel of the complainant, said.

Gurinder Singh (25), a resident of Partap Nagar in Patiala, was detained by Inspector Joginder Singh, the then SHO of police division number -4 in Patiala in 1993.

He was later falsely implicated in an Arms Act, the counsel for the family of Gurinder Singh said.

Gurinder Singh was later shown by the police as having absconded from the police custody and his whereabouts were still unknown, the counsel said.

After the matter was handed over to the CBI, the agency found that the policemen had concocted a false story of Gurinder Singh's escape from police custody.

After May 1993, Gurinder Singh was never seen by anybody either dead or alive.

Five policemen, including Joginder Singh and Jagjit Singh, were booked for abduction and wrongful confinement of Gurinder Singh.

Three policemen have died during the trial of the case, the counsel added.