Gurdaspur: The postmortem of 19-year-old Ranjit Singh, who was allegedly killed in a police encounter in connection with the double murder of two policemen at Adiyan police post, was conducted by a board of doctors under tight security at the Civil Hospital in Gurdaspur.
The postmortem was carried out in the presence of Chief Judicial Magistrate Surekha Dadwal and was videographed as per court directions.
Family alleges custodial killing
Ranjit Singh’s family has maintained that he was not killed in an encounter but was shot dead. As per court orders, the medical board included two forensic experts from Government Medical College, Amritsar, and one doctor from Gurdaspur.
Punjab Students Union leader Amar Kranti, who was present at the hospital, alleged that police fabricated the encounter story after Ranjit’s death during interrogation. He claimed CIA in-charge Gurmeet Singh, who was questioning Ranjit, is the prime suspect.
All eyes are now on the postmortem report, expected in the coming days, which is likely to clarify whether the death was due to an encounter bullet injury or alleged custodial torture.
Tension over last rites
After the postmortem, police reportedly urged the family to perform the last rites. However, the family and a struggle committee objected, stating that late evening cremation was not feasible. They also said the deceased’s father is currently lodged in jail in Dubai in connection with an accident case.
Members of the struggle committee staged a sit-in outside the hospital. Following talks with police, it was agreed that the body would be taken from the hospital on Wednesday morning, and the family would decide on the cremation after consultations.
An 11-member struggle committee formed in the case said a final decision on the last rites would be taken after internal discussions.
Court orders preservation of call, GPS records
A day earlier, acting on a complaint filed by Ranjit’s mother Sukhjinder Kaur, the court had ordered preservation of call detail records (CDRs) and GPS data of police officials linked to the case. It also directed that any CCTV footage from the vicinity of the incident be secured as part of the investigation.
The court further ordered a medical examination of CIA in-charge Gurmeet Singh, who was shown injured during the encounter. The SMO, Gurdaspur, has been directed to constitute a three-member medical board and submit a detailed report to the area magistrate, clarifying whether the bullet injury on his arm was self-inflicted or caused otherwise.
The investigation remains underway.
