The Punjab and Haryana high court on Monday sought a report on the investigation by Chandigarh Police into the alleged assault on Colonel Pushpinder Singh Bath over a parking dispute outside a dhaba in Patiala by Punjab Police personnel on the night of March 13.
The high court bench of justice Rajesh Bhardwaj acted on the plea from Col Bath, who has filed a fresh petition alleging “reticence and reluctance” to impartially investigate the FIR by the Chandigarh Police special investigation team (SIT) and has demanded that probe be withdrawn from the present SIT and entrusted to either senior officers of Chandigarh Police or the Central Bureau of Investigation.
Col Bath and his son were allegedly assaulted by four police inspectors and their armed subordinates when they were at a roadside eatery near Government Rajindra Hospital in Patiala. His family said the duo was standing outside their car and having food when the policemen in civvies approached them and asked the colonel to move his vehicle so that they could park theirs. When the colonel objected to their rude tone, one of the police officers punched him, and soon the other policemen started thrashing him and his son. The colonel’s arm was broken, and his son suffered a cut on his head. The case was handed over to Chandigarh Police by the high court on April 3, acting on the plea from the Colonel.
