The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Monday directed Chandigarh Police to submit a report on the progress of its investigation into the alleged assault on Colonel Pushpinder Singh Bath and his son by Punjab Police personnel over a parking dispute in Patiala earlier this year.
The order was issued by Justice Rajesh Bhardwaj while hearing a fresh petition filed by Col Bath, who has expressed serious dissatisfaction with the manner in which the special investigation team (SIT) of Chandigarh Police has handled the case. He has requested the court to transfer the probe either to senior officers of Chandigarh Police or to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), alleging a lack of impartiality and urgency.
The incident occurred on the night of March 13 near a roadside eatery adjacent to Government Rajindra Hospital in Patiala. According to the petition, Col Bath and his son were eating outside their parked vehicle when four Punjab Police inspectors in civilian clothes allegedly demanded that he move his car. Upon objecting to their behaviour, Col Bath was reportedly punched and then assaulted by the group, resulting in a broken arm. His son also sustained a head injury.
The case was transferred to Chandigarh Police on April 3 following an earlier petition by Col Bath. However, in his new plea, Col Bath has raised several concerns over the progress of the investigation. He alleges that, despite being repeatedly summoned himself, the accused police officers have neither been arrested nor actively included in the investigation. He also points to the disappearance of crucial CCTV footage from a dhaba adjacent to the crime scene and the investigating agency’s failure to retrieve or act upon it.
The petition states that over three months since the FIR was filed and the case transferred, “neither a single accused has been arrested nor any non-bailable warrants or legal proceedings initiated against them.” It alleges “conscious and deliberate inaction” on the part of the SIT.
“A strong order has been passed by the high court and police have been questioned over the delay. The SIT has been asked to file a report on July 16,” Col Bath’s family said in a public statement.
The court has asked Chandigarh Police and the Punjab government to respond to the concerns raised in the plea at the next hearing scheduled for Wednesday. The detailed order of Monday’s proceedings is awaited.
