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Onkar Singh in New Delhi
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Monday denied the charges levelled by the former director general of Punjab police, K P S Gill, that the agency has cooked up evidence against Punjab police officers and is falsely seeking to prosecute them by describing terrorists killed in encounters as innocent people.
"The CBI does not believe in prosecuting anyone on the basis of false testimony. The cases that are pending against the Punjab police officers in various courts in the state are based on facts and evidence given by the witnesses," said a top police officer of the agency, who did not wish to annoy Gill by giving an official reaction.
Gill in an interview to a private television network had alleged that all the cases filed against the Punjab police officers either by the CBI or by the relatives of the victims were false. He has also offered to stand trial on behalf of the officers if they were let off as they were merely carrying out the orders of their superiors.
"How can we file any challan against him when there is no evidence," said officers of CBI.
Gill also accused the human rights organisations of cooking up cases and moving the courts with the sole intention of harassing the police officers.
While trial in more than 500 cases are still in progress, in some cases police officers and policemen have been convicted.
Recently, five policemen including the superintendent of police S K Singh were sentenced to imprisonment for life for allegedly killing one Bashir Mohammad in Tiljala in West Bengal.
S K Singh had described the entire case as total fabrication and maintained that he never went to West Bengal in a helicopter.
CBI, however, defended filing the case.
"The entire case is based on facts and documents. He took the helicopter of the then director general of police K P S Gill and flew to West Bengal (Tiljala to be precise) along with his men," S M Khan told rediff.com.
Singh, however, did not want to discuss the details of the case saying his appeal against the lower court order is now pending in Punjab and Haryana High Court.
S P S Basra, another officer of the Punjab police, who has been under suspension since May 2, 1996 is also fighting a legal battle to save himself.
"Our senior officers who gave us orders are enjoying life, while we are facing the music for carrying out their orders. I am being prosecuted as per the directive of the apex court," Basra told rediff.com in an interview in Chandigarh.
He was held responsible for the disappearance for one Kuljeet Singh Dhatt. While Basra maintains that Dhatt escaped from police custody, the CBI maintains that he was 'eliminated'.
"This terrorist escaped from police custody and I am being prosecuted because the CBI says that being a superior officer I ought to have known what happened," Basra said.
In its argument before the trial court, the prosecution said that Dhatt escaped on July 26, 1989 and till date neither his body has been found nor he has been seen anywhere.
But Basra contesting the prosecution case said, "The man was seen in various places after he escaped from the police custody."
Incidentally, Basra was given the president's medal for bravery while the case was still pending against him in the court.
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