Departmental probe against indicted former Jaitu SHO

FARIDKOT : Police have started a departmental inquiry against former Jaitu station house officer (SHO) Gurmeet Singh after a magisterial probe conducted by Faridkot assistant commissioner Jagdish Singh Johal found him guilty of detaining four students, including a girl, illegally and also misbehaving with them.

The Faridkot senior superintendent of police (SSP) has forward the report to the SP (headquarters) asking to start an inquiry against Inspector Gurmeet, whose moral policing of three students on January 12 started a chain of events that led to the death of two policemen, including a DSP, on January 29.

SP (headquarters) Deepak Pareek confirmed that the inquiry has been initiated.

On January 12, three students – two boys and a girl – of University College, Jaitu, were allegedly picked up from a bus stand by Gurmeet for allegedly “creating nuisance on the road” and taken to police station. The students had complained against “moral policing” to the university and the students’ unions began protests, seeking action against the SHO.

On January 29, when students were protesting at the college again, DSP Baljinder Singh Sandhu shot himself in the head amid the protest. When the DSP shot himself on his temple, the bullet went through and injured a constable standing nearby, who succumbed to his injuries.

The probe report, a copy of which is with HT, found that the January 29 incident in which Sandhu shot himself could have been avoided. The report says Gurmeet did not cooperate with Sandhu and also violated the Supreme Court orders that a woman should be arrested in the presence of a lady constable only.

On April 24, the Faridkot SSP suspended Gurmeet after he posted a video justifying moral policing. HTC