New Delhi: A probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has vindicated Colonel Pushpinder Singh Bath, who alleged Punjab Police personnel, including four inspector-rank officers, assaulted him and his son outside a dhaba in Patiala district.
Bath’s allegations that they were thrashed mercilessly by a dozen police men despite him revealing his identity as an Army officer and rather threatened the father-son duo of carrying out an encounter, it confirmed.
However, a medical board comprising doctors from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, observed that their injuries were grievous in nature but did not amount to endangering life.
Posted as a Deputy Secretary in the Cabinet Secretariat, Bath and his son Angad were thrashed by police officers, including inspectors Hary Boparai, Shaminder Singh, Harjinder Dhillon, and Jai Singh, outside Harbhansh Dhaba.
The assault on the intervening night of 13 and 14 March last year drew widespread condemnation and criticism of the Punjab Police, especially its handling of the case in the aftermath. The Patiala district police first filed an FIR against unknown suspects based on a complaint from the owner of the dhaba, despite the names of the Inspectors given in Colonel Bath’s complaint.
A week after the incident, the Patiala police filed a fresh FIR on the basis of Colonel Bath’s complaint, and the Punjab Police headquarters instituted a panel led by an Additional Director General of Police rank officer.
The central agency, which was handed over the case by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on the petition of Colonel Bath’s wife, Jaswinder Kaur Bath last month, filed a charge sheet against the four Inspectors.
“I have considered the submissions and have perused the record. After investigation, the CBI has filed its charge sheet against the accused persons under Sections 115 (2), 117 (2), 126 (2), 324 (3), 351 (2) BNS, 2023 r/w Section 3 (5) of BNS, 2023. Thus, for the commission of offences punishable under Sections 115 (2), 117 (2), 126 (2), 324 (3), 351 (2) BNS, 2023 r/w Section 3 (5) of BNS, 2023 and substantive offences thereof, cognizance is taken against accused namely Ronni Singh, Hary Boparai, Harjinder Singh, Shaminder Singh and Jai Singh and they are summoned to face trial for 16.03.2026,” Special Judicial Magistrate Karanvir Singh Maju observed in the summoning order passed Friday.
Sources in the CBI said that the attempt to murder charge was dropped on the opinion of the medical board’s observation that injuries to the father-son duo were not life-threatening.
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Missing DVR
The Patiala district police first filed an FIR against unknown suspects under Section 194 (2) (relating to affray) of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) on the basis of the dhaba owner, who was outside when the incident occurred.
As the FIR drew stern criticism and allegations of partiality from Army veterans, the police booked Roni Singh, Harjinder Singh Dhillow, Happy Boparai, Rajvir Singh, and Surjeet Singh.
However, Colonel Bath moved the High Court seeking a CBI probe into the case. The HC, however, first handed the case over to the Chandigarh Police to investigate.
Around three months later, the HC pulled up the Union Territory Police for no real progress in the investigation, despite having probed the matter for over three months, as well as its opinion to drop Section 109 (attempt to murder) of the BNS.
The Chandigarh Police SIT had submitted before the High Court that the accused cops had gone “untraceable”.
The CBI alleged that the Patiala Police recorded the statement under a Daily Diary Report opened on 14 March, and kept it open on the grounds that both the parties—Colonel Bath and the accused cops were making allegations against each other.
Additionally, the CBI stated that the Patiala Police registered its first FIR on the basis of a complaint from the owner of Harbansh Dhaba, who was not even present at the incident site at the time.
This, the charge sheet mentioned, was done despite a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP)-rank officer visiting Colonel Bath at the hospital and his statement explicitly naming the attackers.
“Jaswinder Kaur Bath rushed from pillar to post to get the case registered on the statement of Col. Pushpinder Singh Bath but to no avail. Despite the injuries on the bodies of Col. Bath and Angad Singh Bath, detailed statement dated 14.03.2025 of Col. Bath on the record and availability of CCTV footage, an FIR was not registered immediately by local police,” the special judicial magistrate observed, citing the CBI’s charge sheet.
The CBI has also accused the Station House Officer (SHO) of the Civil Lines Police Station of improperly obtaining CCTV footage that would have served as evidence, without following due process of law.
It submitted that the SHO visited the scene of the incident in the afternoon of 14 March and recorded footage from the CCTV installed at Bawa Dahab, which also captured the incident, using the dhaba owner’s mobile phone.
The SHO claimed that he recorded the CCTV footage in his mobile phone because the monitor of the dhaba was not working, it said.
However, the DVR for the Bawa Dhaba CCTV was found missing, and the dhaba owner said that unknown policemen arrived hours after the SHO visited the dhaba and took it away without issuing a receipt.
“The DVR of said dhaba was found to be missing subsequently. As per the statement of the owner, some unknown policemen came to Bawa Dhaba at around 4PM on 14.03.2025 and took away the same without giving any receipt. Despite efforts, DVR of Bawa Dhaba could not be recovered,” the court said, citing the CBI’s charge sheet.
“During investigation, the mobile of inspector Amritveer Singh was sent to CFSL, Chandigarh for forensic examination as per which the relevant video files were found to be re-recorded from display monitor and the display recording was found post product recording and not stable,” it added.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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