Chandigarh, September 9
In what could have wide-ranging ramifications for Punjab and could further spilt the already divided the Punjab police, the Vigilance Bureau has also booked SS Virk for allegedly keeping "cats" - renegade militants - by hiding their identity to tackle terrorism and to keep tabs on militants.
The VB has added Sections 216 and 218 of the IPC to the case of disproportionate assets against Virk. The move has caused ripples in the police force where several officers, have in the past, faced allegations of fake encounters and fabricating cases. While the disproportionate assets case was is being widly covered, the "real" issue lis elsewhere. The biggest scandal of the Punjab police has been "fake encounters" where somebody was killed and shown a terrorist while the real person was either kept as "cat" or just ran away. Human rights bodies have always cried foul on this issue.
By booking Virk, the VB has made it official that keeping "cats" was punishable and the officers who indulged in this could now face the law. Could this open pandora's box? Several officers, who were in the forefront in tackling militancy said it could create new controversies and the VB should have avoided it.
Virk has publicly admitted that more than 300 "cats" were in operation at one time with the Punjab police to tackle terrorism.
Section 218 deals with "public servant framing incorrect record or writing with intent to save a person from punishment … while knowing that the record is incorrect or this could cause loss or injury to public…". This carries a punishment for three years.
Section 216 deals with " Harbouring an offender who escaped from custody or whose apprehension has been ordered". The offence is for that public servant prevents the criminal from being apprehended.
Observers say Section 218 could be used to implicate Virk for providing fake identities to people like Harjeet Kahlon, alias Suklhwinder Singh Sukhi, while Section 216 could be used against him for allegedly having shown that Sukhi had died while in reality hiding him away and hence preventing his arrest.
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