'My son was eliminated by police'

http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/My-son-was-eliminated-by-police/218979/

Express news service

Posted online: Thursday , September 20, 2007 at 12:00:00
Updated: Thursday , September 20, 2007 at 01:09:03Chandigarh, September 19 The suo motu notice taken by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in the 1991 bomb blast case took a curious turn with Darshan Singh Multani, father of Balwant Singh Multani, claiming that his son was eliminated by the police.

Filing an affidavit in the court, Multani, a retired IAS officer from Punjab cadre, has rubbished the claims of the UT Police that had declared Balwant a proclaimed offender and a suspect in the bomb blast case aimed at eliminating former UT Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Sumedh Singh Saini.

Multani has also demanded a CBI inquiry into the case.

Meanwhile, the Division Bench headed by Justice Mehtab Singh Gill expressed strong displeasure over the "inaction" of the Chandigarh Police. "Nothing worthwhile has been done by the Chandigarh Police to procure the presence of proclaimed offenders (POs) since 1993. The filing of reply seems to be a delaying tactic and only to derail the process of the court to not to bring POs to justice," the Bench held.

Balwant was arrested from Mohali on December 13, 1991 and was booked under TADA and criminal conspiracy. He was then taken to Gurdaspur, from where, according to the police, he escaped on December 19, 1991.

Rubbishing the stand taken by the UT Police, Darshan said, "Balwant Singh was killed extra-judicially or eliminated by police to save their skin. They have concocted the story of Balwant's alleged escape from police custody. Therefore, it needs to be inquired by CBI and the erring police officials should be punished."

Darshan has further alleged that he had applied for grant of regular bail for his son Balwant on December 17, 1991. The prosecution took the stand that Balwant had escaped from Gurdaspur and thus could not be produced.

Accusing the Chandigarh Police of making a false statement, Darshan, in his affidavit, alleged that Balwant had not escaped, but was tortured so badly that he could not even walk. Alleging that Balwant was murdered on December 11,1991, Darshan has questioned as to why no action has been taken against any police official for Balwant's escape.

Narrating his struggle to seek legal action against erring officials, Darshan has further stated that he had written a number of representations to the Chief Minister, Governor of Punjab and the Prime Minister of India. He had even filed a writ petition in the High Court seeking CBI inquiry and immediate action against police officials. The petition, however, was turned down.

Meanwhile, Additional Superintendent of Police, Interpol, N S Kharayat, in a reply sought by the High Court, said the Chandigarh Police did not respond to Interpol's requests of reissuing red corner notices against POs. The officer said after the expiry of the red corner notice issued against Manmohanjit Singh alias Minta, a suspect in the case, the Interpol wrote to the then Inspector General of Police, Chandigarh, asking if the notice needs to be extended. The UT Police never responded to the query, Kharayat submitted in court.

Another message was sent to IG from Interpol, Washington, dated April 12, 2006, requesting to be informed whether India intended to request extradition of Minta through diplomatic channels.

Meanwhile, Interpol (IP) Washington was requested to arrest Minta provisionally, but the IP, Washington replied that he could not be arrested without a formal request for the same.

Finally, IG, Chandigarh informed that they had taken up the matter with the Home Secretary, Chandigarh Administration and requested Minta's name may not be elected from red corner notice. The officer has further submitted that National Control Bureau (Interpol) has no role to play so far as arrest and extradition of Minta is concerned.

The High Court has requested Sat Paul Singh, of special crime branch, to be present in the court on October 5, the next date of hearing.

who was balwant
Balwant (28) had a degree in civil engineering, and was working as a junior engineer with Chandigarh Tourism and Industrial Development Corporation (CITCO) in Chandigarh since May,1989. He was likely to be promoted as SDO by December 31, 1991.
Balwant was taken into custody by Chandigarh Police on December 11, 1991 at 4 am from his house in Mohali in a raid. Darshan has alleged that the family was neither informed about Balwant's whereabouts nor were they allowed to take any legal assistance.

Are there witnesses?
In his affidavit, Darshan Singh Multani has stated that there are witnesses who have seen Balwant in custody. Their names will only be disclosed to the investigating agency if they are ensured protection.`

---

Be smarter than spam. See how smart SpamGuard is at giving junk email the boot with the All-new Yahoo! Mail