Assaulted Colonel's wife, ex-servicemen hold protest in Punjab's Patiala

Chandigarh: The wife of the Army Colonel, who has accused 12 Punjab police personnel of assaulting him and son over a parking dispute, staged a sit-in protest outside the Patiala deputy commissioner's office on Saturday.

She was joined by several ex-servicemen.

The protest came a day after the Punjab Police registered a fresh FIR based on the statement of Colonel Pushpinder Singh Bath. A high-level Special Investigation Team (SIT) has also been set up to expedite investigation.

During the protest, the Army Colonel's wife, Jasvinder Kaur Bath, accused the 12 police officials of brutally thrashing her husband and son, and demanded speedy justice.

BJP leader and former MP Preneet Kaur, who joined the protest, strongly condemned the incident.

"As a citizen of India and the wife of an ex-Army officer (former chief minister Amarinder Singh), I stand in complete solidarity with the assaulted officer and family. I demand an impartial probe, so that the guilty get proper punishment," she said.

Speaking to reporters in Patiala, Kaur said Army officials should be included in the SIT.

"Since the Army is involved, the government is involved and the police force is also involved. A joint SIT should be formed with Army and police officials, and a judge involved," she said.

The alleged incident took place on the intervening night of March 13 and 14, when Colonel Bath and his son were having food at a roadside eatery near Government Rajindra Hospital in Patiala.

The family alleged that some police officers in civil dress asked the Colonel to move his car, as they had to park theirs. When the Colonel objected to their rude tone, the officers thrashed him and his son. The Colonel's arm was broken, and his son suffered a long cut on head.

The Colonel's wife had on Thursday met Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria, who spoke to the state DGP and advised him to register an FIR on the Colonel's statement.

Punjab Police on Friday said it has registered an FIR at Civil Lines police station.

"Colonel Bath's statement names the police officers who assaulted him and details their roles in the assault," a statement said on Friday evening.

An SIT consisting of SPS Parmar, Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order); Sandeep Malik, Senior Superintendent of Police, Hoshiarpur, and Manpreet Singh, Superintendent of Police (Rural), SAS Nagar has been constituted to investigate the incident.

A Punjab Police spokesperson said that Patiala Range DIG has been instructed to immediately transfer the police officers concerned. All the 12 officers have been placed under suspension and departmental proceedings initiated against them, he added.

The Additional Director General of Police (Security), Punjab, has been directed to provide protection to Colonel Bath's family.