Court reserves order on ex-punjab DGP Saini’s anticipatory bail plea

NEXT HEARING ON MONDAY; COURT ASKS WHY CUSTODIAL INTERROGATION IS NEEDED IN THE TIMES OF LOCKDOWN

MOHALI:A Mohali court on Saturday reserved its order for Monday on the anticipatory bail application of former Punjab director general of police (DGP) Sumedh Singh Saini.

Saini and six others were booked on Thursday in connection with the disappearance of a Mohali resident, Balwant Singh Multani, after a terrorist attack in 1991.

“Why do you need custodial interrogation in the times of lockdown?” additional district and sessions judge Monika Goyal posted a query to district attorney Sanjeev Batra, who was opposing Saini’s anticipatory bail plea.

In his reply, Batra said: “Saini’s custodial interrogation is needed to find out how Multani’s body was disposed of after he died of torture. “

The prosecution also said that Saini may threaten witnesses and not cooperate with the investigation agency.

While seeking anticipatory bail, Saini’s counsel APS Deol submitted: “They (police) registered an FIR to harass him (Saini) in the days of coronavirus.”

“No one can be prosecuted for same offence twice. The Supreme Court had already quashed the FIR against Saini in the same case. So how can he be booked again?” argued advocate Deol, challenging registration of the FIR 29 years after the incident.

Advocate Deol submitted: “Soon after his arrest, Multani was produced in a court in 1991 so there can be no case of abduction. Multani was son of an IAS officer but he never made any allegations of torture then.”

Complainant’s counsel Pradeep Virk, however, said the Supreme Court had quashed the FIR on technical grounds with liberty to file fresh a case.

‘GURMEET PINKY TO BE EXAMINED AS WITNESS’

In his bail plea, Saini said the very basis of the fresh FIR was mere heresy based on an interview of Gurmeet Singh, alias Pinky (a dismissed cop of Punjab Police) to a news magazine a few years ago.

In the interview, Pinky had allegedly said that Multani was tortured in police custody leading to his death. His body was disposed of later, Pinky had alleged.

Batra told the court that Pinky will be examined as a witness in this case. However, advocate Deol pointed out that police had not examined Pinky or taken any action against him after his comments published in the magazine.