12 police personnel suspended over assault on Army officer, son in Patiala

Chandigarh: Twelve police personnel, including three inspectors, have been suspended, and a departmental inquiry has been ordered following allegations of assault on an Army officer and his son in Patiala.

Patiala SSP Nanak Singh told The Tribune Group that the policemen were suspended with immediate effect. “We will investigate the matter in detail, and justice will be done. We will not spare anyone,” he said. The suspended officials include Harry Boparai, Ronnie Singh, and Harjinder Dhillon, along with nine others, sources said.

The incident took place near the government-run Rajindra Hospital on March 13. Colonel Pushpinder Bath, posted at the Army headquarters in New Delhi, alleged that he and his son were attacked by police personnel and are currently undergoing treatment.

The Punjab Police had initially registered an FIR against unidentified persons in connection with a brawl at the location. However, the officer’s family accused police officials of assaulting the two.

According to police sources, the personnel involved were in civilian clothes and were returning from an operation to rescue a seven-year-old boy from kidnappers.

A police officer claimed that Colonel Bath and his son, who were allegedly under the influence of alcohol, attacked them first. Police also cited an FIR registered based on a dhaba owner’s statement.

At a press conference in Patiala, Colonel Bath’s wife, Jaswinder Bath, alleged police brutality. She claimed her husband and son had stopped at a dhaba near Rajindra Hospital when police officers asked them to move their car.

“When my husband objected to their language, one of the policemen punched me, and later all the policemen thrashed my husband and my son,” she said. She also alleged that despite CCTV footage and identification of the accused officers, the police were protecting their personnel.