The court also asked the Punjab government to specify whether it wanted a consent-based order or one on merit before the final decision was made.

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab and Haryana High Court today transferred the investigation into the assault of serving Army Colonel Pushpinder Singh Bath and his son to the Chandigarh Police, directing the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) within three days.

The decision came after Col Bath petitioned for a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or an independent agency.

Justice Harpreet Singh Brar, while passing the order, specified that no Punjab Police officer should be part of the SIT to ensure a fair and transparent probe. The SIT has been given four months to complete its investigation.

The court also asked the Punjab government to specify whether it wanted a consent-based order or one on merit before the final decision was made.

The Punjab government accepted the transfer of the probe to the Chandigarh Police, as did Col Bath’s family. The state was represented by senior advocate Randeep Singh Rai. A detailed order is awaited.

Col Bath had moved the High Court last week after the Punjab Police allegedly delayed filing an FIR regarding the alleged assault on him and his son by a group of 12 policemen, including four inspectors. The family had rejected the SIT formed by the Punjab Police.

Jaswinder Kaur, Col Bath’s wife, had met Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on March 31, where she expressed dissatisfaction with the delay. “The CM assured us of a CBI probe, but no action was taken,” she said.

Initially, she had expressed satisfaction with the assurance, but later realised that it was a false promise. The family had earlier met Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in Delhi and Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria.

The Punjab Police SIT, which was led by ADGP A.S. Rai, had recorded the statements of the accused officers yesterday. However, with the court’s decision, the SIT has now become defunct.

The Punjab Police had registered an FIR only on March 22, eight days after the incident, following repeated appeals from the officer’s family.

The incident took place on the intervening night of March 13 and 14 when Col Bath and his son, Angad Singh, were having dinner at a dhaba near Rajindra Hospital. Col Bath alleged that a group of men aggressively approached them, demanding they move their car.

“One of them threatened to break our legs and then punched me. I lost consciousness. Then they assaulted my son,” he said. When Col Bath identified himself as an Army officer, the attackers allegedly snatched his ID card and mobile phone.

The petitioner alleged that the Patiala Police failed to act despite the severity of the incident. He claimed that distress calls to senior officials were ignored.

Instead of registering an FIR on his complaint, the police initially lodged a case of ‘affray’ against unknown persons based on a third-party complaint. The officer’s family had to approach senior police officials and even the Punjab Governor before an FIR was finally registered eight days later.