DC cancels parole to Mohali lawyer’s killers

Parole given to two Patiala jail inmates undergoing life imprisonment for shooting a Mohali lawyer after an argument over parking here in 2013 has come under the scanner. Sunil Bhanot and Kevin Sushant, who were convicted along with seven others in November 2017 for killing Amarpreet Singh outside his house in Phase 3A, came out of parole on April 6 this year after furnishing wrong residential address.

Month on, Mohali deputy commissioner (DC) Gurpreet Kaur Sapra on Tuesday cancelled the parole and senior superintendent of police (SSP) Kuldeep Singh Chahal ordered an inquiry.

Mohali deputy mayor Manjit Singh Sethi, who is the deceased lawyer’s uncle, in his complaint to the SSP and Punjab director general of police (DGP) earlier in the day accused head constable Amrik Singh, posted at the Kharar (city) police station, of “misusing powers” to facilitate the parole.

It has been alleged that police neither conducted verification of the address nor recorded the statement of complainant (Sethi) before submitting “no objection” to the convicts’ application for parole.

The Mohali police even failed to get the verification report from their Chandigarh counterparts even as one of the convicts, Bhanot, is a UT resident. According to rules, address verification is to be conducted by the police station concerned and statements of immediate neighbours are to be recorded.

Also, the Punjab ADGP (jails) had earlier written to the Patiala jail superintendent that the complainant has apprised the authorities that he fears threat to life from the convicts. However, the Mohali police, ignoring the directions, failed to approach Sethi. Soon after coming out on April 6, Bhanot flouting the terms of parole travelled to Delhi and then Goa, alleged Sethi. However, rules state that the person on parole cannot leave the jurisdiction area — Kharar in this case.

Kharar (city) station house officer (SHO) Satnam Singh confirmed that Bhanot had gone out of town. He, however, claimed the two convicts have been reporting to the police station at regular intervals as required under the rules, the latest being last week.

‘Will recommend strict action’

Meanwhile, cancelling the parole, the DC said: “As misreporting led to the grant of the parole, I have cancelled it. I will recommend strict action against the cop who failed to do his duties properly. No one can be allowed to play with law.” Sapra has already directed her staff to review parole of all convicts in the case.

Another convict, Deepak Kaushal, was granted parole for getting married while another one, Rajat Sharma, had applied for parole on an address in Makkhanmajra even though he is a resident of Sector 51, Chandigarh.

Meanwhile, left red-faced, the police department has ordered an inquiry. “We have ordered an inquiry and verification is being done”, said SSP Chahal.

Besides Bhanot, Sushant, Kaushal and Sharma, Dharminder Singh, Jaswinder Singh Khattu, Sunvir Singh, Onkar Singh, and Vishal Sharawat were awarded life imprisonment in the case last year. They had gunned down Amarpreet Singh, a Punjab and Haryana high court (HC) lawyer, on the night of February 27, 2013, outside his residence and also injured his cousins Gaganjot Singh and Simranjeet Singh.

The murder took place following a quarrel between the lawyer and some of the convicts over parking. The convicts used to reside in Sethi’s neighbourhood.