Police probe shoddy, misleading: SC commission on Abohar case

Chandigarh: Nation Commission For Scheduled Castes on Friday charged the Punjab police with carrying out "shoddy" probe into the brutal murder of a 27-year-old Dalit in Abohar as it said the investigating agency has "misled" Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal in the case.

The NCSC has also written to the Punjab and Haryana High Court to take suo moto notice of the brutal murder of Bhim Sain, allegedly by suspected henchmen of a liquor baron, in Abohar, and order a probe by a sitting judge into this matter.

"I feel that the police has misguided the Punjab chief minister in the Bhim Sain murder case. I doubt the intention of the police with regard to their investigation in this case," Commission vice chairman Raj Kumar Verka said.

Verka, slamming chief minister Badal for his reported remark that the murder was result of a gang war, said, "It is not a gang war. It is clear case of atrocity on a Dalit and the government cannot shirk from its responsibility."

The NCSC chairman flayed the ruling SAD government in Punjab for not visiting the family of the victim. Verka was also critical of the special investigation team formed to probe the matter. "The investigation being conducted by SIT was not going into the right direction. I have said that the investigation be handed over to ADGP (Crime)," he said.

Verka, Congress MLA, slammed police for registering a rape case against victim Bhim Sain. "Four hours after the death of Bhim, police is registering a rape case against him. This is the most irresponsible act by the police," he said, claiming that the "fake case" was registered by the police at the behest of the accused liquor baron.

Stating that he has written to state home secretary and the DGP to file affidavits with the Commission with regard to Abohar incident within a week, Verka said otherwise he would recommend a CBI probe into the matter.

"On one side you are saying it was a case of gang war and to its contrary, you are also registering a case under the provisions of Dalit Atrocity Act," he said.

The Commission has written a letter to Punjab and Haryana High Court, requesting it to take suo moto cognisance of the matter and hold a probe by a High Court judge in this incident in which limbs of Bhim were chopped off, he said.

Verka also pointed out difference between the statements of Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Union Minister Vijay Sampla on this issue.

"Sampla was saying that it was a case of Dalit atrocity but Harsimrat Badal had said it was a case of gang war," he said.