Amid ‘Satluj’ row, ex-DSP Jaspal Singh who killed Jaswant Singh Khalra missing | Chandigarh News
PATIALA: Former Punjab Police DSP Jaspal Singh – a life convict in the 1995 abduction and murder of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra – who was released on bail in May 2023 is now nowhere to be found.The address verification initiated by Nabha Open Jail authorities following the controversy over ‘Satluj’ has hit a wall. Investigators said they could not trace his stated residence in Hoshiarpur district – the address recorded in his bail order by court.Hoshiarpur Sadar SHO Baljinder Singh, whose team is trying to trace Jaspal, said he had never lived in Manjhi. Local police had most probably never received any prior request to verify his residence before his release on bail, he suggested.ASI Surinderpal Singh, who led the field inquiry following the request, said he found no evidence that Jaspal had ever lived in Manjhi. It’s a very small village around 50km from the district headquarters where everyone knows everyone else. “Village sarpanch, Jatinder Singh, told us that he was nearing 50 but no one by the name of Jaspal Singh had ever lived in Manjhi. We have recorded his statement and sent a report to the Nabha jail authorities.”Jaspal’s advocate Gagandeep Singh Gheeray said verification of a convict’s address was required only if there were specific court orders. He said the Manjhi address might have been entered in court proceedings during registration of the FIR. Tainted Cop Had Sought Mercy ReleaseJaspal was released from jail after furnishing bail bonds of Rs 1 lakh and a similar surety.Hoshiarpur DSP Kulbhushan told TOI that convicts released on parole were required to report weekly to their local police station but in cases of bail, only specific conditions laid down by the court applied.The sudden scrutiny into Jaspal’s whereabouts was triggered by controversy over the removal of ‘Satluj’ from Zee5. The biopic on human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, who was abducted and killed by police for seeking justice for victims of extrajudicial killings – features Jaspal’s character as well. Nabha jail superintendent Chanchal Kumari and Hoshiarpur SSP Sandeep Malik could not be reached despite repeated attempts. Hoshiarpur DC Aashika Jain said she was out of station and would be able to answer by Friday.Jaspal was a DSP when he was convicted in the 1995 abduction and murder of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra. He was granted interim bail after serving nearly two decades in prison, his advocate said.Singh was granted the breather pending a final decision on his mercy petition, in line with Punjab govt policies for life convicts who have served 18 to 20 years, said Gheerey. During the trial, Jaspal was represented by advocates Teerath Singh, Maninderpal Singh and Kundan Singh Nagra According to an eyewitness testimony recorded in CBI court’s judgement, Jaspal Singh was in the group of cops who took away Khalra in a police van from outside his Amritsar home on Sept 6, 1995. Khalra was then held in illegal police custody, where he was tortured and murdered. His body was later dumped in a canal near Harike.A CBI court in Patiala convicted Singh in Nov 2005 of murder, abduction and criminal conspiracy. Punjab and Haryana high court upheld his life sentence in Oct 2007, and so did Supreme Court in 2011. He was released on bail from the Nabha Open Jail in May 2023.
