A Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Punjab Police will probe the attack on India’s former cricketer Suresh Raina’s relatives in Pathankot, in which his uncle and cousin were killed.
The decision came hours after Raina, in a series of tweets, had sought the help of Punjab Police in catching the culprits and also tagged the Chief Minister in one of them.
The Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, from his official Twitter handle, tweeted, “Condole the brutal attack on kin of @ImRaina in Pathankot. Have ordered a SIT probe into the case and have asked @DGPPunjabPolice to identify & arrest the culprits at the earliest. Beta, my DC & SSP have met the family and we will make sure that the guilty are brought to justice.”
Raina, who recently pulled out of IPL 2020 and returned home from the UAE citing ‘personal reasons’, has said that what happened to his family was beyond horrible. “My uncle was slaughtered to death, my bua & both my cousins had severe injuries… Unfortunately my cousin also passed away last night after battling for life for days. My bua is still very very critical & is on life support,” Raina tweeted.
“Till date we don’t know what exactly happened that night & who did this. I request @PunjabPoliceInd to look into this matter. We at least deserve to know who did this heinous act to them,” Raina said in a series of tweets on Tuesday.
Following the Chief Minister’s directions, the state Director General of Police (DGP) Dinkar Gupta has set up a SIT to probe the attack.
Gupta said that the SIT is headed by IGP Border Range, Amritsar, SPS Parmar, with Pathankot Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Gulneet Singh Khurana, Pathankot SP (Investigation) Prabhjot Singh Virk, and DSP Dhar Kalan (Pathankot) Ravinder Singh as members.
ADGP, Law and Order, Ishwar Singh has been tasked with the day-to-day supervision of the investigations, while SPS Parmar has been authorized to co-opt any other police officer(s) posted in the State for expeditious investigation into the case, said the DGP.
The DGP said that the IGP is also at liberty to obtain the support and assistance of any other Wing or Unit of the Punjab Police to probe the case, registered on August 20, 2020, under sections 460, 459, 458 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at Shapur Kandi police station (Pathankot), where the incident took place late on the night of August 19 in Tharyal village.
ADGP (law and Order) and SIT chairman have been directed to apprise the DGP of the status of investigation on a daily basis. “I will regularly update the Chief Minister, who has directed all measures to ensure expeditious investigation and arrest of the culprits,” added the DGP.
Ashok Kumar, the cricketer’s 58-year-old uncle, died on the spot while his son Kaushal succumbed to his injuries on Monday. Three other family members were injured, including Ashok Kumar’s wife, Asha Rani, who is reported to be in critical condition.
Though initial investigations suggest that the attack had the signature of criminals belonging to a de-notified criminal tribe, who are often seen to operate along the Punjab-Himachal border, the SIT has been mandated to examine all possible angles, said the DGP. Specialized teams from the Organized Crime Control Unit have also been roped in to carry out a 24X7 probe into the case, he added.
DGP said that the inter-state raids are being conducted to hunt out suspects involved in past crimes of similar nature, and more than 35 suspects are under the scanner. “Few persons from Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh have been identified as suspicious and their mobile numbers and whereabouts are being located. Raids have also been carried out in Gurdaspur, Tarn Taran, and Amritsar in coordination with the local police,” he added.
Six labourers, who were working with the deceased Ashok Kumar, have been interrogated. Tower dumps of the crime scene and nearby locations have been taken and sent for technical analysis to track suspicious movements, said the DGP, who disclosed that CCTVs of the area and Army or BSF area have been checked for any suspicious movement.
Investigations so far also suggest the accused had planned to rob or trespass three other houses in the neighbourhood. Similar previous incidents in Punjab are also being checked out to ascertain whether the suspects in those cases were in jail or out, added the DGP.
ITS COMPLETE BREAKDOWN OF LAW & ORDER, SAYS SAD
Shiromani Akali Dal on Tuesday said that there was a sharp increase in snatchings, robberies and armed dacoities which had recently led to the “slaughter” of two kin of renowned cricketer Suresh Raina which clearly indicated that the people, who were ruling the State, had locked themselves up and left the people to their fate.
“Even women are not safe, with a girl being forced to defend herself when attacked with a weapon in a snatching incident a few days back. In another recent incident, a 65-year-old woman brick kiln owner was hacked to death outside her home in Payal and robbers killed a temple priest and decamped with money in Amritsar. A youth was shot dead a few days back even as there are daily cases of robberies and loot,” said former minister Bikram Singh Majithia.
Majithia said that the “open license” given to liquor and sand mafia as well as other unscrupulous elements had also spoiled the law and order situation in the State. “Various clean chits given to scams engineered by Congressmen have given a fillip to unscrupulous elements,” said Majithia adding that it was shocking that while there was an undeclared curfew for the common man at night, there was no restriction on criminals who were striking at will across the State.
