Himalaya Harbinger, Rudrapur Burea
Mohali: A special CBI court in Mohali on Thursday sentenced former senior superintendent of police (SSP) Gurmeet Singh Randhawa to seven years’ imprisonment in the 1992 abduction and disappearance of transporter Amrik Singh Shakri, who was picked up by a Tarn Taran police team from a Ludhiana hotel while attending a wedding.
The verdict comes nearly 34 years after the incident. Co-accused constable Parminderjit Singh, represented by advocate HS Dhanoa, was acquitted on Wednesday.
A detailed copy of the judgment is awaited.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered the case in February 2000 on the directions of the Supreme Court and filed a chargesheet against five police officials: Then Tarn Taran DSP (detective) Gurmeet Singh Randhawa, then Khalra station house officer inspector Suba Singh, sub-inspector Surinder Singh, assistant sub-inspector Jaswant Singh, and constable Parminderjit Singh.
According to the CBI probe, a Tarn Taran police team picked up Shakri on November 25, 1992, from Hotel Amaltas in Ludhiana, where he was attending his niece’s wedding. His family approached several authorities, including then Punjab chief minister Beant Singh, seeking his release, but received no information about his whereabouts.
In 1996, Shakri’s wife filed a habeas corpus petition in the Supreme Court. The state informed the apex court that Shakri had died and produced ‘bhog’ advertisements as evidence, a claim his family disputed.
The Supreme Court subsequently ordered a CBI inquiry into allegations concerning the cremation of unidentified and unclaimed bodies by the Punjab Police, bringing Shakri’s disappearance under the probe’s ambit.
The CBI initiated a preliminary inquiry in January 1999 and registered a regular case in February 2000 under charges of kidnapping, illegal detention, fabrication of records, and criminal conspiracy. While naming the five officials in its chargesheet, the agency noted that the alleged main conspirator, then Tarn Taran SSP Ajit Singh Sandhu, had died during the investigation.
Although charges were framed in 2000, the trial commenced only in 2022 after higher courts stayed proceedings following petitions filed by the accused officers.
The trial suffered a major setback when key evidence submitted by the CBI—including witness statements, wedding photographs and video footage, and vehicle logbooks of the accused officers—went missing from the court record. The high court later ordered the reconstruction of the files. No action has been taken against any judicial staff member or official over the missing documents.
Of the 47 witnesses cited by the CBI, only 16 deposed during the trial, as several died during the prolonged proceedings. Three of the accused—ASI Jaswant Singh, SI Surinder Singh, and inspector Suba Singh—also died, leading the court to abate proceedings against them.
