The Punjab Police has suspended seven personnel, including two officers of deputy superintendent rank, in connection with interviews given by gangster Lawrence Bishnoi while he was in police custody.
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Punjab Police, led by the special director general of police (human rights), revealed that one of Bishnoi’s interviews was conducted while he was in Punjab Police custody in Kharar, Mohali, while the second interview took place in Rajasthan.
The suspensions followed the SIT’s findings of duty dereliction by the seven officers involved.
According to an order issued by the Punjab home secretary on Friday, the suspended personnel include SP Gursher Singh Sandhu, DSP Sammar Vaneet, sub-inspectors Reena (CIA Kharar), Jagatpal Jangu, and Shaganjit Singh, as well as assistant sub-inspector Mukhtiar Singh and head constable Om Parkash.
“Given the case’s sensitivity, all of the above officers have been suspended,” the order stated.
The SIT report indicated that Bishnoi’s interview, aired by a private TV channel, was conducted via video conference on the night of September 3-4, 2022. In March of the same year, a private news channel broadcast two interviews with Bishnoi, with the first occurring at the CIA (Crime Investigating Agency) premises in Kharar, within SAS Nagar, Mohali.
The second interview was conducted while Bishnoi was lodged at the Central Jail in Jaipur. The SIT’s findings were submitted to the Punjab and Haryana High Court in July as part of a suo motu matter related to mobile phone usage by jail inmates.
Bishnoi is one of the accused in the 2022 murder of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala.
