Former DGP Saini moves HC, seeks transfer of case to CBI

CHANDIGARH: Former Punjab director general of police (DGP) Sumedh Singh Saini has approached the Punjab and Haryana high court seeking transfer of FIR registered by Punjab Police into disappearance of Balwant Singh Multani in 1991 to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The plea was taken up by the bench of justice Manoj Bajaj on Wednesday. The hearing has been deferred till August 26 in view of court raising some questions with regard to maintainability of the plea.

Multani, who worked as a junior engineer with the Chandigarh Industrialandtourismcorporation (CITCO), was picked up allegedly by the police after a terrorist attack on Saini, the then Chandigarh SSP. Later, the police claimed that Multani, son of a former IAS officer, had escaped from the police custody and his whereabouts were not known.

Mohali police registered a case against Saini and seven others on May 6 this year on a complaint from Multani’s brother Palwinder Singh. On Tuesday, two former UT cops and co-accused in the case turned approvers, inviting trouble for Saini.

In his plea, Saini says the FIR is result of mala fide act and him launching probes against Congress leaders, their relatives to unearth big scams due to which he had become eye sore for the political parties. He has listed out various FIRS registered against top Congress leaders during his tenure so as to reason why he is being ‘targeted’.

He also argued that his name was being dragged in the controversy surrounding 2015 sacrilege violence cases also due to this reason. He has questioned registration of FIR arguing that it goes against the apex court order of 2011, which amounted to quashing of earlier FIR in this case.