Patiala: Sita Ram was sentenced to life imprisonment by a special CBI court in Mohali on March 6, 2025, in a 32-year-old fake encounter case. He was 80 years old and had been ailing for some time. He was admitted to Rajindra Medical College in Patiala, where he breathed his last late last night.
History of fake encounter
The case began on January 30, 1993, when Gurdev Singh (Deba) was arrested by the police from Galipur in Tarn Taran. Sukhwant Singh was arrested from Bamaniwala village on February 5, 1993.
The police claimed that two youths opened fire on a police party in Bhagupur area, which the police retaliated, resulting in their deaths. It was later revealed that the encounter was a fake encounter, and the bodies of the youths were not handed over to their families, but were cremated in a deserted area.
The CBI started the investigation on the orders of the Supreme Court.
The CBI started the investigation in 1995 on the orders of the Supreme Court. The statement of witness Gian Singh was recorded on November 27, 1996. In February 1997, the CBI registered a case against PP Kairon and ASI Naurang Singh, among others.
In 2000, the CBI filed a chargesheet against 11 police officers of Tarn Taran, including:
Naurang Singh (PP Kairon),
ASI Didar Singh,
Kashmir Singh (DSP Patti),
Sita Ram (SHO Patti),
Darshan Singh, Gobind Singh (SHO Valtoha),
ASI Shamir Singh, ASI Fakir Singh,
C. Sardul Singh, C. Rajpal, C. Amarjit Singh.
Sentence and arrest
Sita Ram was sentenced to life imprisonment in this fake encounter case, while several other police officers were also convicted. He died in jail.