IG Umranangal sent to judicial custody, shifted to Patiala jail
FARIDKOT: A Faridkot court on Tuesday sent inspector general of police (IGP) Paramraj Singh Umranangal to judicial custody (14 days) in connection with the 2015 Kotkapura firing case.
The special investigation team (SIT) probing the firing incidents took Umranangal to the modern jail, Faridkot, from where he was shifted to the Patiala jail on security grounds.
Umranangal was arrested from the Punjab Police headquarters in Chandigarh on February 18 by SIT and was sent to four-day police remand the next day. Later, his remand was extended by three days.
Earlier, the jail authorities had also shifted former Moga senior superintendent of police (SSP) Charanjit Singh Sharma to the same prison citing similar grounds.
The SIT is probing the calls between him (Umranangal) and then director general of police (DGP) Sumedh Singh Saini before the firing incident. It claimed that Umranangal was commanding the police at Kotkapura on October 14, 2015 when the firing incident took place.
In the Kotkapura incident, on the recommendations of the Justice (retd) Ranjit Singh Commission report, a case was registered on August 7, 2018, under Sections 307 (attempt to murder), 323 (causing hurt), 341 (wrongful restraint), of the Indian Penal Code and sections of the Arms Act against unidentified cops.
Later, the SIT added more sections, including 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence or giving false information) and 218 (public servant framing incorrect record) besides Section 34 (done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian in both the cases.
HEARING ON RANJIT REPORT DEFERRED TILL MARCH 6
The hearing on an appeal filed by three cops challenging the single judge order on dismissal of pleas against the Justice (retd) Ranjit Singh panel report was deferred on Tuesday till March 6.
The plea was moved by former Moga SSP Charanjit Singh Sharma, who has been arrested by SIT, and then Bajakhana SHO Amarjit Kalar, both named in the Behbal Kalan firing case. Arguments are underway on maintainability of the plea with the government arguing that an intra-court appeal can’t be filed in a criminal case and single judge orders in such cases can be challenged in apex court. NEW DELHI: Indian-origin Canadian politician Jagmeet Singh made history once again by becoming the first leader of a federal party, belonging to a visible minority group, to be elected to Canada’s House of Commons.
Singh won the by-election to the Burnaby South riding (constituency) in British Columbia province, 18 months after his pioneering victory to become the leader of the New Democratic Party. A jubilant Singh, whose politicalfuturedependedon this contest, told his cheering supporters, “My friends, it’s a new day. It’s a new day.”
Singh spent the last few weeks camped out in the district. The native of Brampton in Ontario had taken residency in Burnaby and even voted in the election.
The turnout in the byelection was low, just about 25% of registered voters participated, and Singh captured about 38% of the more than 22,000 votes cast to comfortably defeat Richard Lee, his closest rival from the Liberal Party. While his tenure as New Democratic Party leader has been less than impressive with the party lagging in support and fund-raising, a seat in the House of Commons will raise his profile even as Federal elections are due in October.
This was the most high-profile by-election in Canada in recent times due to Singh’s presence. It also attracted controversy, as the original candidate of the Liberal Party Karen Wang had to pull out after seeking votes based on ethnicity. Burnaby South was far from a safe seat for Singh, since the NDP had captured it from the Liberals by a little over 500 votes in 2015.
THE INCIDENT
In their complaint, the 21-yearold woman and her male friend told the police that they were kidnapped by 10 people on February 9 near Issewal bridge and held them hostage for money till morning.
The woman was gangraped at a vacant plot at Issewal village, while her friend was physically assaulted. The accused allegedly demanded ₹2 lakh from their friends in lieu of releasing them. But police in their probe claimed that six youths committed the crime.
A case was registered under Sections 376-D (gangrape), 384 (extortion) and 342 (wrongful confinement) of the Indian Penal Code.
ASI Vidya Ratan was dismissed for not taking timely action. Later, sub-inspector Jarnail Singh was suspended and station house officer (SHO) Rajan Parminder Singh was shifted to the police lines.
SHIFTED TO PATIALA ON SECURITY GROUNDS; EARLIER, FORMER MOGA SSP CHARANJIT SINGH SHARMA WAS TAKEN TO THE SAME PRISON CITING SIMILAR REASON