CBI Investigation Uncovers Major Failures in Patiala Police Handling of Army Colonel Assault Case
The Central Bureau of Investigation has uncovered significant failures in how Patiala police handled the attack on a serving Army Colonel. Colonel Pushpinder Singh Bath and his son faced assault by Punjab Police officers in March last year. The CBI found widespread negligence that allowed crucial evidence to disappear.
Missing Evidence and Questionable Police Actions
Investigators discovered that unknown policemen accessed the DVR containing vital CCTV footage from a nearby dhaba. The Patiala police never recovered this critical evidence. A Special Judge of the CBI Court in Mohali highlighted these findings in an order uploaded on January 17.
The court has summoned four police inspectors and one constable to face trial on March 16. The accused officers include Inspectors Ronni Singh, Harry Boparai, Harjinder Singh, Shaminder Singh, and Constable Jai Singh.
Delayed Response and Improper FIR Registration
The CBI investigation shows Patiala police dragged their feet on this case. Officers refused to register a proper case initially, citing cross-complaints between parties. Police recorded Colonel Bath's statement at Rajindra Hospital on March 14, where he identified his attackers.
Despite this statement and available CCTV footage, local police did not file an immediate FIR. Instead, they registered a case on March 15 based on a complaint from a dhaba owner who wasn't present during the incident.
Colonel Bath's wife, Jaswinder Kaur Bath, made repeated efforts to get the case registered properly. Her attempts proved unsuccessful until the CBI intervened.
Critical CCTV Footage Disappears
Station House Officer Amritveer Singh visited the crime scene on March 14. He found that CCTV cameras from Bawa Dhaba covered the incident location. Since the monitor wasn't working, he recorded footage from the dhaba owner's mobile phone.
The DVR from Bawa Dhaba went missing later that day. The dhaba owner stated that unknown policemen took the equipment around 4 pm without providing any receipt. Despite search efforts, police never recovered the DVR.
Forensic examination of Inspector Amritveer Singh's mobile phone revealed problems. Experts found the video files had been re-recorded from a display monitor. The recording quality was unstable and created after the original product recording.
Silence on Senior Officers' Roles
The CBI investigation remains silent about two senior officers' involvement. The probe doesn't address the role of then DIG Patiala Range Mandeep Singh Sidhu. It also doesn't examine SSP Patiala Nanak Singh's direction of the investigation.
Background of the Incident
Colonel Bath and his son Angad Singh Bath were returning to Patiala from Delhi on March 13-14, 2025. They stopped at Harbansh Dhaba outside Rajindra Hospital around 12:15 am for food.
Angad noticed their neighbor's car passing by and called him to join them. Param Angad Talwar arrived and parked behind the colonel's car, which was partly on the road.
While they ate from plates on the car trunk, policemen arrived in three vehicles from the wrong side of the road. The group included the now-accused officers in both uniform and civilian clothing.
Inspector Ronni Singh, wearing civilian clothes, approached Colonel Bath and his son. An argument erupted about parking arrangements. Colonel Bath identified himself as an Army officer and requested polite conversation.
When Angad Bath moved toward his car, Ronni Singh punched Colonel Bath in the face. The blow broke his spectacles and injured his nose. Angad rushed back to protect his father and pushed Ronni Singh away.
Other accused officers then joined the assault. Harjinder Singh Dhillon, Harry Boparai, Shaminder Singh, and Jai Singh began beating both father and son with fists and sticks. Inspector Shaminder Singh and Constable Jai Singh threatened dhaba customers to leave immediately.
Colonel Bath managed to enter his car, but Harjinder Singh Dhillon pulled him out by his hair. The officer dragged him from the vehicle and continued the assault with sticks. The policemen also vandalized the colonel's car before fleeing the scene.
