Justice After 32 Years: CBI Court Sentences 5 Retired Punjab Police Officers to Life Imprisonment in Fake Encounter Case
Mohali, August 4, 2025:
Bringing closure to a 32-year-old fake encounter case, a special CBI court in Mohali today sentenced five retired Punjab Police officers to life imprisonment. Each convict has also been fined ₹3.5 lakh.
Those convicted are:
Bhupinderjit Singh (then DSP, retired as SSP)
Devinder Singh (then ASI, retired as DSP)
Gulbarg Singh (then ASI, retired as Inspector)
Suba Singh (then Inspector)
Raghubir Singh (then ASI, retired as SI)
The case goes back to 1993 when a police team from PS Sirhali and PS Verowal in Tarn Taran district allegedly abducted and killed several individuals in staged encounters.
Following a Supreme Court directive in a petition filed by Mrs. Paramjit Kaur (Criminal Writ No. 497/1995), the CBI registered the case on June 30, 1999.
The CBI investigation revealed that on June 27, 1993, three Punjab Police SPOs — Shinder Singh, Sukhdev Singh, and Desa Singh — were abducted by a team led by Inspector Gurdev Singh.
Balkar Singh alias Kala was also picked up the same day. Later in July 1993, Sarabjit Singh alias Saba and Harwinder Singh were abducted by Suba Singh.
On July 12, 1993, Shinder Singh, Desa Singh, Balkar Singh, and one Mangal Singh were killed in a staged encounter led by DSP Bhupinderjit Singh and his team. On July 28, 1993, the remaining three — Sukhdev Singh, Sarabjit Singh, and Harwinder Singh — were also killed in another fake encounter by the same officers.
CBI Chargesheet and Trial
The CBI filed a chargesheet on May 31, 2002, against 10 police officers. Five of them passed away during the lengthy trial process:
Inspector Gurdev Singh
SI Gian Chand
ASI Jagir Singh
Head Constable Mohinder Singh
Head Constable Aroor Singh
The remaining five were convicted by the CBI Court on August 1, 2025, and sentenced to life imprisonment today, August 4.
Decades of Struggle
Families of the victims fought tirelessly for justice for over three decades. Despite delays, they didn’t give up hope. With this verdict, justice has finally been served for lives lost in cold-blooded fake encounters.
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