Punjab Newsline | Chandigarh
Punjab Police has reportedly initiated a confidential verification process to trace the current whereabouts of former DSP Jaspal Singh, who was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in the abduction and murder of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra. The move comes after the case regained public attention following discussions surrounding the film "Satluj."
Jaspal Singh was found guilty in the high-profile 1995 kidnapping and murder case of Khalra and was awarded life imprisonment. He was granted interim bail in May 2023. Following renewed public interest generated by the film, Punjab Police is now verifying his present residence and current status.
According to sources, the administration of Nabha Open Jail has also contacted police officials to verify the former DSP's current address. Jail authorities have maintained that the exercise is part of a routine administrative verification process after recent changes in prison management and is not linked to any specific development.
Meanwhile, senior advocate Barjinder Singh Sodhi, who represented Khalra's case, said all those convicted in the murder case had previously been lodged in Patiala jails before being shifted to different districts. He questioned how a convict released on interim bail could remain untraceable in official police records, calling it a serious lapse if confirmed.
Human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra was abducted and murdered in 1995 after exposing alleged illegal cremations in Punjab. The case remains one of the state's most significant human rights prosecutions and has returned to the spotlight following the renewed interest sparked by "Satluj."
