CBI files charge sheet against four Punjab Police officers in Colonel Pushpinder Bath assault case

CHANDIGARH: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a chargesheet against four Punjab Police officers in the Colonel Pushpinder Bath assault case.According to sources, the apex investigating agency filed the chargesheet in a Mohali CBI court on Wednesday against Punjab Police inspectors Harjinder Singh, Shaminder Singh, Harry Boparai and Ronnie Singh. The charges include grievous hurt and wrongful restraint, among others. However, the attempt-to-murder charge does not figure in the chargesheet. Inspector Ronnie Singh has been named as the main accused.The filing of the chargesheet marks a significant development in the high-profile case, particularly due to the omission of the attempt-to-murder charge at the prosecution stage.The incident took place on the intervening night of March 13 and 14, when Colonel Bath and his son, Angad Singh, were having dinner at a dhaba near Rajindra Hospital. Colonel Bath alleged that a group of men aggressively approached them and demanded that they move their car.“One of them threatened to break our legs and then punched me. I lost consciousness. Then they assaulted my son,” he had said at the time. When Colonel Bath identified himself as an Army officer, the attackers allegedly snatched his identity card and mobile phone.The Punjab Police registered a First Information Report (FIR) only on March 22, eight days after the incident, following repeated appeals from the officer’s family. A case was registered against inspectors Harry Boparai, Ronnie Singh and Harjinder Dhillon under Sections 109 (attempt to murder), 310, 155(2), 117(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 126(2) (wrongful restraint) and 351(2) (criminal intimidation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Later, another inspector was named under Sections 299 and 191 of the BNS.In March, Colonel Bath moved the High Court, alleging delay by the Punjab Police in filing an FIR in the assault case involving him and his son by a group of 12 policemen, including four inspectors. The family rejected the special investigation team (SIT) formed by the Punjab Police.In April, the High Court directed the Chandigarh Police to constitute a special investigation team to probe the case and complete the investigation within four months. In July, the High Court transferred the probe to the CBI, a move upheld by the Supreme Court in August, citing concerns over the impartiality of earlier investigations by both the Punjab and Chandigarh Police.



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