Kotkapura police firing: Ex-SHO accused of tampering record, held

BATHINDA: After two arrests in quick succession in the Behbal Kalan police firing case, the special investigation team (SIT) has now arrested sub-inspector (SI) Gurdeep Singh Pandher in the Kotkapura police firing case. Pandher was Kotkapura City SHO when police had fired on October 14, 2015, on those protesting against the acts of sacrilege.
The SI is accused of fabricating evidence by misappropriating the 10 cartridges shown to have been used and depositing empty shells in the police malkhana (record room), whereas the ammunition is still untraceable. He is also accused of tampering with the record of the police station pertaining to the case, according to the SIT.
The team had called Pandher for questioning on Wednesday and took him into custody, based on the first information report (FIR) 192 of 2015. He was produced in the court on Thursday and the court sent him to one-day police remand.
Senior SIT member IG Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh confirmed the development, “Pandher has been arrested in the Kotkapura case.”
The accused in the case include: suspended IG Paramraj Singh Umranangal, who was arrested on February 18, 2019; former MLA Mantar Singh Brar; former SSP Charanjit Singh Sharma; SPs Paramjit Singh and Baljit Singh; and then Kotkapura SHO Gurdeep Singh. The SIT investigating had filed the 2,000-page chargesheet on June 27, 2019, under charges of attempt to murder against the accused in the case.
Police had resorted to cane-charge, lobbying tear gas shells and water canons and then fired shots to disperse the protesters, who had assembled at Kotkapura light point chowk to protest against act of sacrilege at Bargari on October 12, 2015.
A bullet had hit protester Ajit Singh from a Barnala village in his thighs and it is at his statement that case against cops and ex-MLA was registered for attempt to murder at Kotkapura police station on August 7, 2018.