Acting on the Supreme Court's orders, the CBI began its probe on December 26, 1995, and identified the deceased as the two constablesAfter 32 years of legal battle, a CBI court in Mohali Wednesday sentenced former Beas (then SHO) Paramjit Singh (68) (retd SP) to 10 years of imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on him for abducting two Punjab Police constables who were later killed in a staged encounter in 1993.The court acquitted Inspector Dharam Singh (then SHO of Lopoke), ASI Kashmir Singh, and ASI Darbara Singh due to lack of concrete evidence, while S-I Ram Lubhiya (incharge, Butala police post) died during trial proceedings.The case dates back to April 18, 1993, when Constable Surmukh Singh (Muchhal village, Baba Bakala) and Constable Sukhwinder Singh (Khiala village, Amritsar), both in their early 20s, were picked up by the police and illegally detained. Later, the Majitha police claimed they had killed “two unidentified militants” in an encounter and cremated their bodies as unclaimed.CBI public prosecutor Anmol Narang stated, “Surmukh Singh was picked up by a team led by then SHO Paramjit Singh around 6 pm, while Sukhwinder Singh was picked by S-I Ram Lubhiya earlier the same day at 2 pm.” The next day, Sukhwinder’s parents were denied access to meet him at Beas police station.Four days later, the Majitha police under SHO Dharam Singh falsely claimed an encounter and later filed an “untraced report”.Acting on the Supreme Court’s orders, the CBI began its probe on December 26, 1995, and identified the deceased as the two constables.A formal FIR was registered on February 28, 1997, and a chargesheet was filed in 1999 against five officers.Story continues below this adVictims’ counsel Jagjit Singh Bajwa and Sarabjit Singh Verka said, “Despite charges being framed in 1999, the trial was delayed for over two decades due to baseless petitions. Only 27 witnesses were examined. Others died or turned hostile.”Charanjit Singh, son of late Surmukh Singh, while speaking to the media outside the court, said, “These police officials not only killed my father but also ruined my life. I had been selected for recruitment in the police department, but because of the allegations/ this case made by them, I was not issued the appointment letter. I am seeking justice for that as well.”Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:fake encounterPunjab Police