Former Jaitu SHO to apologise to students

FARIDKOT: Former Jaitu SHO Gurmeet Singh, whose alleged act of moral policing of three students on January 12 started a chain of events that led to the death of two cops on January 29, will offer an apology to the three students he had first picked up on Monday. Members of the farm union will also be present, when Gurmeet will meet students. Faridkot SSP Nanak Singh has recommended a magistrate probe against him.

IT ALL STARTED ON JANUARY 12, WHEN THREE STUDENTS — TWO BOYS AND A GIRL – WERE ALLEGEDLY ‘PICKED UP’ FROM A BUS STAND BY THE SHO FOR ‘CREATING NUISANCE ON THE ROAD’

FARIDKOT: Former Jaitu SHO Gurmeet Singh, whose alleged act of moral policing of three students on January 12 started a chain of events that led to the death of two policemen on January 29, will offer an apology to the three students.

Members of the farm union will also be present, when Gurmeet will meet the students.

Faridkot SSP Nanak Singh has already recommended a magisterial probe against him.

STUDENTS ALLEGED ILLEGAL DETENTION

It all started on January 12, when three students of University College, Jaitu – two boys and a girl – were allegedly “picked up” from a bus stand by Gurmeet for “creating nuisance on the road” and taken to the police station.

The students’ parents had alleged they were kept in police custody for at least five hours and thrashed.

The students had complained against “moral policing” to the university and students unions had begun protests, seeking action the SHO.

On January 29, two weeks after the initial incident, students were again protesting at the college, when DSP Baljinder Singh Sandhu shot himself in the head, in the middle of the protest.

When the DSP shot himself in the temple, the bullet went through and injured a constable standing nearby, who succumbed to his injuries.

For this incident too, the police had picked up four people, who have since been released.

These have also accused the SHO of torture and thrashing.

“The police brutality did not end even after the deaths. After being detained, the SHO thrashed us with wooden sticks. We were pulled by our hair and tortured,” Gurvir Kaur, one of those detained and released on January 30, had alleged on January 31.

The DSP was cremated with full state honours. DGP Suresh Arora, who attended, said this was one of the most ‘unfortunate’ incident that he had witnessed in his career.