Colonel Bath, a serving officer of the Indian Army posted at the Army headquarters in Delhi, and his son Angad Singh Bath were allegedly attacked by police personnel, including 4 Inspectors, on the intervening night of March 13 and 14 . Colonel Bath allegedly suffered a dislocated arm while his son Angad’s nose was fractured in the attack.
According to the media reports, the latest development came on the heels of a meeting that Col. Bath’s family had with Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday. The Colonel’s wife Jaswinder Kaur Bath had told reporters after the meeting that the chief minister had promised action by Monday evening after holding a meeting with senior civil and police officers.
Sources said that a message was conveyed to the family via Army channels that SSP Nanak Singh will be transferred out of Patiala and the SIT will conduct a fair probe if the Army officer withdrew his plea before the high court seeking a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The high court is set to hear the case again on April 3. In the previous hearing on March 28, the court criticised the affidavit filed by SSP Singh and raised serious questions over the delay in registering the First Information Report (FIR) and the Daily Diary Report (DDR).
The High Court sought an affidavit detailing why police officers were present at the location of the assault and whether they were on duty at the time. It also sought details of all FIRs registered in Patiala district between March 18 and 20, when police were on high alert due to the farmers’ protest.
The Special Investigation Team , meanwhile, visited Patiala on Monday and released a phone number on which people with information about the case can share it with the police. Amardeep Singh Rai, who heads the SIT, assured the media that the team was committed to ensuring a fair investigation into the incident.
