Patiala: A fresh petition has been filed in the Punjab and Haryana high court to demand a CBI probe into the March 13 encounter of 22-year-old Jaspreet Singh, a youth who had returned from Vancouver, but was accused of kidnapping a child from Ludhiana.The petitioner, Gurtej Singh Dhillon, is the brother-in-law of Col Pushpinder Singh Bath, an army officer who was allegedly assaulted by a police team in Patiala. The petition alleges that the same police team involved in Jaspreet’s killing previously assaulted Col Bath and his son outside Rajindra Hospital here. The CBI is already investigating that case following a high court order.Dhillon has demanded a time-bound Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the incident, alleging that Punjab Police staged a “fake encounter”. He cited medical evidence indicating close-range gunshot wounds and claimed that police officials were promised promotions and Rs 10 lakh for the encounter. “Police claimed he died in an exchange of fire, but villagers told me that he surrendered before being taken to an isolated spot where shots were heard,” said Dhillon.Dhillon said Punjab govt faced scrutiny amid reports of 20 encounters in six months. “We fear evidence destruction if Punjab Police investigates itself,” he added. “The post-mortem proves execution-style killing. How can police claim it was crossfire?” said the counsel for Dhillon.
