 "'Studio-like' set-up for gangster: HC slams Punjab Police in Bishnoi case")
The Punjab and Haryana High Court recently voiced concern over a possible collusion between police officials and gangster Lawrence Bishnoi in a case involving the latter’s televised 2023 interview from Bathinda jail.
The court passed the observation after reviewing a cancellation report filed by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) and ordered a renewed investigation.
Allegations of police aid
According to the court, the police seemed to have enabled Bishnoi’s access to electronic devices, providing conditions akin to a studio environment within the jail. This, the court noted, could potentially promote criminal activities by glorifying Bishnoi's image, potentially aiding him and his associates in further crimes, including extortion.
“Police officials allowed the criminal to use an electronic device and provided a studio-like facility to conduct the interview, which tends to glorify crime with the potential to facilitate other crimes...," the court said.
In a sharp rebuke, the court criticised the Punjab government, led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, for the way it handled the investigation. The court observed that junior police personnel were being made scapegoats, while only two out of the suspended officers were gazetted officials. Justices Anupinder Singh Grewal and Lapita Banerji emphasised that senior officers should be held accountable rather than shifting blame to lower-ranking staff.
The court further raised the possibility that certain police officials might have accepted illegal bribes from Bishnoi or his associates, suggesting offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act. “Therefore, the case requires further investigation,” the bench said.
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Suspensions of police officers
Following the SIT's findings, the Punjab Police suspended seven officials, including two officers at the deputy superintendent level. Notably, the court questioned the role of former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in-charge Shiv Kumar, who had been terminated, but remained on an extension. The bench highlighted concerns regarding Bishnoi’s multiple transfers to the CIA office in Kharar for remand and interrogation purposes.
The court demanded additional affidavits from high-ranking officials to clarify their role and involvement in Bishnoi’s interview. The court also questioned why the Director General of Police (DGP) initially stated that no interview had occurred within Punjab's jail and why Section 120-B of the Criminal Conspiracy Act was not applied to implicated officers.
Public interest in the case surged after videos of Bishnoi’s interviews began circulating online. This development followed the recent murder of Baba Siddique, a former Maharashtra minister and NCP leader linked to Ajit Pawar, who was killed in Mumbai on October 13.
(With agency inputs)