Punjab Police raid former DGP Sumedh Singh Saini's house

Jupinderjit Singh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 28

A Punjab Police team conducted a raid at former state DGP Sumedh Singh Saini's house in Chandigarh early on Friday morning. Saini was not at home at the time.

Police sources said officials of the Mohali police and the SOG (Special Operations Group) were part of the raiding team. DSP-Detective, Mohali, Vikramjit Brar, who is also attached with the Organised Crime Control Unit (OCCU), led the raid.

A Mohali court had reserved orders for a day on Thursday on Saini's bail application in the Balwant Singh Multani disappearance case. The court had added Section 302 of the IPC in the case against Saini recently.

Meanwhile, the court has extended interim bail of former DGP Sumedh Singh Saini till September 1.

Also read: Sumedh Saini’s interim bail extended till Sept 1

Two Chandigarh police officials, co-accused in the case, had turned approvers, detailing how Multani was allegedly picked, tortured and killed.

The two cops have also vouched as eyewitnesses in the case and in their statement in the court have also alleged to have been an eyewitness to the torture to Multani under the custody of former DGP Saini and his shifting in a Gypsy in an unconscious state. They also alleged that later they were told that Multani went missing. The two cops were also allegedly asked to declare Multani as missing and absconded, following the orders of DGP which they did, they alleged before the court.

An FIR was registered afresh against the former DGP at Mataur police station, Mohali, accusing him of the abduction of Balwant Singh Multani, following the complaint of his (Balwant's) brother Palwinder on May 6, 2020.

Sumedh Singh Saini and six other police officers were booked in a 29-year-old case of the alleged abduction, torture and stage-managed elimination of Balwant Singh Multani, son of former IAS officer Darshan Singh Multani.

Balwant, the victim, was accused of carrying out an attack on Saini when he was the Chandigarh SSP on December 11, 1991. He, along with Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar, a convict in a Delhi bomb blast case, and two others, was booked but the police later claimed Balwant escaped from the custody of Qadian (Gurdaspur) police.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court had ordered a CBI inquiry into the case after the Multani family pursued the matter. However, the Supreme Court had quashed the High Court order.