Family members of Colonel Pushpinder Singh Bath on Monday met Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann demanding the transfer of Patiala SSP Nanak Singh and a CBI probe into the assault on the Army officer and his son by police personnel. The…

Tribune News Service

Family members of Colonel Pushpinder Singh Bath on Monday met Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann demanding the transfer of Patiala SSP Nanak Singh and a CBI probe into the assault on the Army officer and his son by police personnel.

The meeting came a day after the family met Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi over the issue while rejecting the probe by a three-member special investigation team constituted by the state police.

Meanwhile, the SIT visited Patiala to investigate the incident that had allegedly taken place on March 13 over a parking dispute.

After the meeting held at the CM’s official residence in Chandigarh, the family said Mann assured them action in the case by evening.

“We will wait for the outcome of the meeting as the CM told us that he will be meeting a battery of senior officers from Punjab and take strict action,” said Jaswinder Kaur Bath, the wife of the Army officer.

The family members were accompanied by Patiala BJP leader Gurtej Singh Dhillon, who is also a relative of the Army officer. Colonel Pushpinder Bath, currently posted at the Army headquarters in New Delhi, underwent treatment at a Military Hospital with multiple injuries.

The accused 12 police officers were suspended following the incident.

Jaswinder Kaur said the CM met them for about an hour. “He told me that I was Punjab’s daughter and such an incident should not have happened to anybody. The CM said he called a meeting of senior officers and a decision would be taken by 6 pm,” she claimed.

However, talking to The Tribune late evening, Jaswinder Kaur said though the Chief Minister assured of strict action, they were “yet to hear anything from his office and it is already 8 pm”.

“We are firm on our stand for an independent probe into the whole incident by the CBI and shifting of Patiala SSP Nanak Singh. I am hopeful that justice will prevail. Our fight for what is right will continue,” she said.

Meanwhile, the SIT headed by Additional DGP AS Rai visited the alleged spot of crime and said the CCTV footage of the incident had been sent to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory of the Union government.

Rai told reporters at the Circuit House in Patiala that the SIT would investigate the entire case in a fact-based manner “without any bias”.

“If anyone has any video, any other evidence related to this case or has any other information, then they can meet the SIT at the Circuit House Patiala on April 2 from 11 am to 2 pm,” he said, adding that people can contact SIT member DSP Dalbir Singh Sidhu on 75083-00342.