Hails military role in countering terror, ensuring stability
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has urged the top leadership of the Indian Army to maintain a “firm and vigilant” stance along the borders with China.
Addressing the Army Commanders’ Conference, a biannual apex-level event, Singh expressed full confidence in the capabilities of the troops. “He complimented the armed forces for standing firm and vigilant along the northern borders and said the same should continue,” the Ministry of Defence quoted him as saying.
Referring to the situation along the western border with Pakistan, Singh praised the Army’s response to cross-border terrorism. His remarks came just two days after the Pakistan Army violated the ceasefire along the Line of Control in the Krishna Ghati sector of Jammu and Kashmir.
Defence Minister flags off expeditions
New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday flagged off two separate expeditions to Mount Everest (8,848m) and Mount Kangchenjunga (8,586m). The Indian Army’s Mount Everest expedition, comprising 34 climbers, will follow the traditional South Col Route, and will be led by Lt Col Manoj Joshi. A joint Indo-Nepal expedition, aiming to scale Mount Kangchenjunga, will feature 12 mountaineers from the Indian Army and six from the Nepali Army. It will be led by Col Sarfaraz Singh of the Indian Army. TNS
“The adversary continues to wage a proxy war,” Singh said, highlighting ongoing security threats. He commended the joint operations by the Indian Army, Central Armed Police Forces and Jammu & Kashmir Police, stating that their efforts were contributing to greater regional stability and should continue.
The minister also lauded the Border Roads Organisation for significantly improving road connectivity along both the northern and western borders.
He further acknowledged the Army’s initiatives in developing niche technologies through collaborations with civil industries and premier educational institutions, emphasising the push for “modernisation through indigenisation”.
Meanwhile, during the four-day Army Commanders’ Conference (April 1-4), military leaders comprehensively reviewed the current security landscape, border situations and operational challenges. Discussions also covered organisational restructuring, logistics, administration, human resource management, modernisation through indigenisation, induction of niche technologies and the impact of global developments on national security.
The attitude of senior officers to shield the misconduct and wrongdoings of juniors eventually leads to indiscipline, bad behaviour and corruption.
There is this unfortunate tendency of some senior police officers and some in other government departments to shield, cover up or overlook the misconduct and wrongdoings of junior officers and subordinate staff. Such misplaced sense of loyalty and support eventually leads to a breakdown of discipline and results in subsequent gross misconduct on the part of such subordinate staff. This happened in Punjab during the late eighties and early nineties when fake encounters had become the norm for the state police.
During the mid-eighties, an air service was started between Kota and Delhi. A small shelter at the airport served as its office. General Officer Commanding (GoC) of the division in Kota, who was the seniormost army officer in Rajasthan, was stopped by a deputy superintendent of police (DSP) who wanted to carry out his body search before he was to board the aircraft. The GoC was in uniform and from where the DSP was standing, one could see the pilot jeep along with a number of military police personnel as the GoC arrived. The GoC did not allow the DSP to carry out his body search. The DSP was rude and had misbehaved.
On return from Delhi, the GoC wrote to the DG Police in Jaipur about the conduct of this DSP. The DGP did not respond, but his staff officer wrote back, justifying the DSP’s conduct. The GoC pursued the case through staff channels. Finally, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) issued instructions to the police to suspend the DSP and initiate disciplinary action against him.
The attitude of senior officers to shield the misconduct and wrongdoings of juniors eventually leads to indiscipline, bad behaviour and corruption.
There is this incident which took place in Patiala on the intervening night of March 13-14, wherein four police inspectors and eight policemen in civil dress beat up a serving colonel of the Army (Col Pushpinder Singh Bath) and his son while they were having food at a roadside dhaba. The police personnel were apparently drunk, both with the false sense of authority and, perhaps, liquor as well. Otherwise, at least one the four inspectors would have tried to restrain the others from assaulting the colonel and his son. Even when the colonel told them that he was an army officer and showed his identity card, they did not stop beating him, but instead snatched his card and phone. They continued to hit him with sticks as he lay unconscious on the ground and kept beating his son as he tried to shield his father. These policemen told the son to collect the identity card the next morning only if they survived this encounter.R
A day before, these police personnel had staged an encounter and, for them, this was yet another encounter. The way the policemen continued to beat the colonel was nothing short of an attempt to murder. The colonel’s arm and his son’s nose were fractured.
The colonel’s wife raised the alarm. She was driven from pillar to post as she tried to bring the case to the notice of the authorities. The SSP, Patiala, tried to strike a compromise between the colonel’s family and the police personnel and cover up the case. The policemen apologised and sought forgiveness from the colonel’s family for their conduct and, at the same time, gave a veiled threat to the family as it had to live in Patiala and so also these police personnel.
If one were to delve into the past record of these police inspectors, it is possible that it would be found that their previous wrongdoings had been covered up or, perhaps, even rewarded.
Some two days after this serious crime, a false FIR was registered against some unknown persons in the name of the owner of the dhaba where this incident took place. Two features of this FIR are intriguing. One, the identity of the culprits in this crime was shown as ‘not known’ and it was recorded that the colonel and his son were drinking liquor when this incident took place. Two, the names and other details of these police personnel were known to the police and the medical examination of the colonel and his son, carried out in the civil hospital, showed that they had not taken liquor.
Subsequently, attempts were made by senior police officers to strike a compromise between the colonel’s family and the police personnel.
A second FIR by Col Pushpinder Singh was recorded after eight days, only when the incident had come into the public gaze and ex-servicemen had staged a ‘dharna’ in front of the deputy commissioner’s office. Attempts seem to have been made to exclude the name of one of the four inspectors involved in this crime. These policemen were merely suspended and not arrested and, that too, when pressure was built on the SSP, Patiala.
The police constituted a team of senior police officers to look into the case. However, this incident of criminal assault, where an attempt seems to have been made to kill the colonel, is too serious a case to be dealt by a departmental inquiry. The colonel’s wife made desperate attempts to meet senior police officers, but they could not see her as they were rather busy. The Chief Minister finally agreed to meet her on March 31.
The response to her pleas from senior police officers made her realise that fair play may not come about. So, she demanded that the case be handed over to the CBI for an unbiased investigation.
Finally, a spirited advocate took up this case with the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Soon after, Colonel Bath’s application before the high court too surfaced. These two applications have been clubbed and the court has taken up the case.
At one time, the Punjab police was considered the best in the country. Today, it is rated rather low. This slide must be arrested. Lawlessness, free flow of drugs and illegal dispatch of young people to foreign countries by fake companies are rampant. Corruption, too, persists.
The Punjab Police has many competent officers. They must put an end to illegal activities. They must attend to the wrongdoings of the junior staff, enforce discipline and ensure their good behaviour towards the public at large. It is well within their capability and capacity to bring law and order back on rails and restore the Punjab Police’s standing in the country.
Badal moves high court, seeks independent inquiry, claims political interference in ‘assassination’ attempt investigation
Former deputy chief minister and Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) leader Sukhbir Singh Badal has moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court alleging bias and political interference in the investigation into an alleged “murderous attack” on him outside Ghantaghar Deori of the Golden Temple, Amritsar, on December 4, 2024.
Badal contended that he was performing “sewa” when he was attacked, but the attempt was foiled by the alertness of his security personnel.
“However, the investigation into the attack has been biased, unfair, and marred by ulterior motives, necessitating the transfer of the case to an independent agency.”
In his petition, filed through advocates Arshdeep Singh and Arshdeep Singh Kler, Badal asserted that the investigating agency had deliberately attempted to dilute the gravity of the crime by misrepresenting facts in the FIR and final report.Badal further submitted that CCTV footage and witness statements suggested a deep-rooted conspiracy involving additional individuals who had not been adequately investigated.
“The Investigating Agency appears to be acting under political influence, compromising the fairness of the probe. In light of the evident lapses, bias, and political interference in the investigation, the petitioner urgently seeks this court’s intervention to transfer the case to an independent agency, ensuring a fair and just inquiry,” he argued.
He added the incident, captured on CCTV and corroborated by medical and eyewitness reports, resulted in a counter-FIR against the aggressors
Alleging apparent misuse of law and state machinery, police officer Ronnie Singh today moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court, seeking anticipatory bail in the Army officer assault matter. The petition will come up for hearing before Justice Harpreet Singh Brar’s bench on April 2.
Describing himself as “a dedicated police officer with an unblemished service record”, the petitioner claimed falsely implication in the matter. Narrating the sequence of events, the petitioner submitted that he, along with a police team, conducted a raid near Rajindra Hospital in Patiala following secret intelligence regarding a wanted drug trafficker.
“During this operation, he encountered individuals consuming alcohol in public and obstructing hospital access. Upon being politely asked to clear the passage, these individuals, including Colonel Pushpinder Bath and his son, reacted aggressively, assaulted the petitioner, and created public nuisance,” he alleged.
He added the incident, captured on CCTV and corroborated by medical and eyewitness reports, resulted in a counter-FIR against the aggressors. Subsequently, a misleading social media campaign was launched, distorting facts and attempting to malign the petitioner’s reputation, even misrepresenting his goodwill apology as an admission of guilt,” his counsel added.
Chandigarh: The wife of Army officer Col Pushpinder Singh Bath has accused Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann of failing to act on his assurances regarding police officers implicated in alleged assault on her husband.
Jaswinder Bath met Mann in Chandigarh on Monday, seeking action against officers accused of attacking the colonel on the night between March 13 and 14. However, she now claims she was misled by the CM’s promises. “After days of waiting, I saw hope finally when the CM assured me of justice,” Jaswinder said in a video message on Tuesday. “But now, I feel deceived. The Punjab govt seems to be playing the same game as police — first registering a false FIR, then making superficial suspensions, and now failing to take real action.”
She alleged that since her meeting with Mann, neither his office nor any officials have contacted her, despite his assurances. “I have been calling the CM’s officer on special duty (OSD) since Monday evening, but he hasn’t responded to a single message. There hasn’t even been a social media post from the CM on the matter,” she added. “It feels like the govt just wanted to end our protest, not deliver justice.”
A day after meeting Punjab CM Bhawgant Mann seeking strict action against the cops who allegedly assaulted an Army officer and his son, the family said they “felt let down” and “would continue to fight for justice”. “I was assured…
A day after meeting Punjab CM Bhawgant Mann seeking strict action against the cops who allegedly assaulted an Army officer and his son, the family said they “felt let down” and “would continue to fight for justice”. “I was assured of strict action by Monday evening, but till now 24 hours after the meeting, I have yet not heard from the CM’s office and am losing faith in the assurance by the CM,” said Jaswinder Kaur, wife of Colonel Colonel Pushpinder Singh Bath.
“I still hope that the CM puts out a statement. I feel let down by the government as no action has been taken 19 days after the brutal attack,” she said.
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The wife of Colonel Pushpinder Singh Bath on Tuesday said she has a feeling that the Punjab government was playing a game with them in the “assault” case even after the chief minister’s assurance.
Bath accused 12 Punjab Police personnel of assaulting him and his son over a parking dispute on the intervening night of March 13-14 in Patiala. Recently, he filed a plea in the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking transfer of the probe to the CBI or another independent agency.
“When CM Mann gave an assurance yesterday, I felt hopeful. Mann sahab placed his hand on my head and said ‘daughter, you will get justice’. During the meeting, he had said one of his OSDs will reach out to us with an update yesterday,” she said.
Kaur quoted the chief minister as saying she was not only the country’s daughter but also like his daughter.
She further said, “The way the police did not initially register an FIR and did not do what they ought to have done in the case, they kind of played a game with us. Now again, I have this feeling that the government is also playing a game with us,” she alleged.
“Mann sahab, you had said we will get justice. Today, the country’s daughters and Punjab’s daughters are waiting for this justice. No one contacted from your office after my meeting with you yesterday,” she said.
Earlier, after her meeting with Mann, Kaur had told reporters, “I thank the chief minister for promising to take appropriate action in the matter… I salute him. He said justice will be delivered in the case. He said he will be holding meeting with officials”.
“He (CM Mann) kept his hand on my head and said I am Punjab’s daughter. He listened to us patiently,” she said.
“I have been given assurance that justice will be delivered,” Kaur said.
Last week, the Army called for a fair and honest investigation in a transparent and time-bound manner to punish the guilty in the Colonel Bath assault incident.
“We reiterate the need for a fair and honest investigation in a transparent and a very time-bound manner to punish the guilty and restore the faith in the system,” Lt Gen Mohit Wadhwa, Chief of Staff, Army Western Command headquarters Chandimandir, had last week said at a joint media briefing here with Punjab’s Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav.
DGP Yadav said at the joint briefing that the Punjab Police reiterated its highest respect to the Indian Army and was committed to maintaining and upholding the dignity of the Army officers.
The DGP said any person who had assaulted the serving Army officer would be dealt with severely and in accordance with the law. The investigations would be completed swiftly so that the culprits were brought to book soon, the DGP said, as he talked about various steps taken by the Punjab Police after the incident, which included setting up of a high-level Special Investigation Team headed by a senior Punjab Police officer.
A S Rai, head of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) set up to probe the case, had on Monday appealed to the people of Patiala to share with the team any evidence if they had in the form of video recordings or any other information pertaining to the assault incident.
The Punjab Police had lodged a fresh FIR based on Colonel Bath’s statement a week after the alleged incident.
Bath has alleged that the assailants — four inspector-rank officers of the Punjab Police and their armed subordinates — attacked him and his son without provocation, snatched his ID card and mobile phone, and threatened him with a “fake encounter”, all in public view and under CCTV camera coverage. The colonel suffered a broken arm, while his son had a cut on his head in the incident.
All 12 police personnel have been placed under suspension and departmental proceedings have been initiated against them, the Punjab Police earlier said.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
