A day after a 22-year-old man was shot dead during a police raid, the Jalandhar Rural Police have booked his family members on charges of attempt to murder and obstructing public servants from discharging their duty.
The deceased, Lovepreet Singh, who suffered two gunshots to the waist and thigh, succumbed at the Nakodar civil hospital.
The incident happened in Bangiwal village of Jalandhar district on Friday evening when a police team led by Mehatpur station house officer (SHO) Aman Saini conducted a raid at the house of Lovepreet, who was evading arrest in an attempt to murder case registered in January this year.
The family members, accompanied by farmer organisations and Left union activists, staged a protest outside the Mehatpur police station on Saturday, seeking criminal action against the SHO and the subordinates who accompanied him during the raid.
Firing on spur of moment: SSP
Addressing a press conference in Jalandhar, senior superintendent of police (SSP) Harvinder Singh Virk reiterated that the whole incident occurred in the spur of the moment in self-defence after the police team faced strong confrontation from Lovepreet and his family members, who assaulted them with sharp-edged weapons and sticks.
Virk said according to the standard operating procedure, a magisterial probe has been ordered under which Lovepreet’s post-mortem will be carried out by a board of doctors under the supervision of a magistrate-level officer.
Taking serious note of the incident, a case has been registered against Lovepreet Singh, his mother Kuldeep Kaur, sister Gagandeep Kaur, and four unidentified persons for resorting to physical assault on police personnel and obstructing them in performing their duty. The probe will be supervised by SP, investigation, Vineet Ahlawat, who will conduct a fair, impartial, and thorough investigation from all angles.
The case has been registered under several sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including Section 109 for attempt to murder, Section 121(1) for voluntarily causing hurt to deter a public servant, Section 131 for provocation, Section 132 for criminal force to deter a public servant, Section 191(2) for rioting, Section 221 for obstructing a public servant, Section 224 for threat of injury to a public servant, and Section 351 for criminal intimidation, alongside other sections of the Arms Act and Section 63 of the Punjab Police Act.
The SSP said the preliminary investigation showed Lovepreet and his family members along with unidentified persons allegedly assaulted ASI Sukhwant Singh and tore his uniform. The violent crowd also attacked senior constable Sukhwinder Singh with sharp-edged weapons with the intention of causing grievous injury.
During the incident, an unidentified person from the crowd allegedly fired a gunshot. In order to safeguard his life and secure the government-issued weapon, Sukhwinder Singh initially fired one round in the air, but the attackers did not retreat. During the confrontation, Lovepreet allegedly attempted to snatch the government weapon, and considering the grave situation, two rounds were fired in response, hitting Lovepreet in the waist and thigh.
Family counters police stand
Lovepreet’s family alleged that the police personnel first opened fire in the air, triggering panic and chaos.
His uncle, Jaswant Singh, said that Lovepreet was in the washroom when the police team barged into the house, broke the washroom gate, and started hitting him. The family resisted, to which the senior constable opened fire at Lovepreet.
He said that the family demanded a thorough probe into the matter and that the SHO of Mehatpur police station and the entire raiding team must be suspended for a fair investigation.
The family said there are serious concerns over the professional conduct of the police and maintained that they were not armed with any life-taking weapons.
Meanwhile, the police claimed that Lovepreet’s family had a criminal background, noting that besides four FIRs of drug smuggling and violence against Lovepreet, his sister Gagandeep faced four FIRs, while his brother Mandeep Singh had six criminal cases registered against him.
