Murder convict Punjab Police ‘cat’-turned-cop Gurmeet Pinky reinstated, fired again

Fatehgarh Sahib/ Chandigarh: Controversial Punjab Police ‘cat’-turned- cop Gurmeet Singh Pinky was reportedly re-appointed as [Head Constable] on May 16, 2015. It is pertinent to note here that Pinkey was convicted in a murder case in which he was sentenced to undergo “imprisonment for life”. But he was granted “premature release” by the Punjab government after he served less than eight years in prison.

According to sources Gurmeet Pinky was reinstated as [Head Constable] on May 16, however, his reappointment was reportedly revoked on May 20 at the directions of “high-ups” of Punjab police.

Pinky reportedly enjoys patronage of Punjab director general of police (DGP) Sumedh Singh Saini, who is himself infamous for blatant human rights abuses in Punjab during 1980s-90s. According to source, Gurmeet Pinky was re-appointed as [Head Constable] on an order reportedly issued by deputy inspector general (DIG) Gurinder Singh Dhillon. Gurmeet Pinky had reportedly joined duty reportedly at Fatehgarh Sahib

In wake of controversial nature of the order, it was revoked much before could snowball into a major political controversy, the re-appointment of Pinky.

In what a top police officer described as “a patently illegal and highly mala fide order,” the DIG wrote a 23-page order to justify his decision of reinstating Pinky.

Such is his clout even in political circles that the Punjab government, through a June 2014 order, had released him prematurely from the Nabha jail even before the completion of 10 years’ actual sentence, triggering a political storm across the state.

A Hindustan Times (HT) news report quotes sources saying that: [i]nspector general (IG, zonal) Lok Nath Angra revoked the re-appointment of Pinky and sent the report to the Punjab Police headquarters here, saying that the decision taken by DIG Dhillon was mala fide and perverse.

Immediately, another IG-rank officer here prepared the report on the basis of Angra’s dossier and the transfer order of DIG Dhillon was issued on Wednesday. The DIG relinquished his charge in the evening.

“The DIG has been attached with the police headquarters at Chandigarh and necessary steps are afoot to take disciplinary action against him for having issued unilaterally an illegal order,” HT quotes police sources.

It is notable that Gurmeet Pinkey was involved in torture and killings of innocent Sikh youth, including women but he did not face any charges due to political patronage and state’s (undeclared) policy of impunity for human rights abusers in Punjab. In January 2001 Gurmeet Pinkey gunned down a Ludhaina youth named Avtar Singh Gola over a petty issue. Avtar Singh was the only son of his parents.

Gurmeet Pinkey was convicted in the murder case and sentenced to life imprisonment. However, he was released by the state government secretly on May 24, 2014. The issue of his premature release had reached the Punjab and Haryana high court.