Photo Source: ANI
Justice After 31 Years: Retired SP Paramjit Singh gets 10-year jail term in 1993 Fake Encounter Case
Babushahi Bureau
Amritsar (Punjab), July 23, 2025 – A special CBI court today sentenced retired Superintendent of Police (SP) Paramjit Singh, 68, to ten years of imprisonment and imposed a fine of ₹50,000 for his role in the 1993 fake encounter case involving the abduction and killing of two Punjab Police constables in Amritsar.
The court acquitted three other accused — Inspector Dharam Singh, then SHO of Lopoke police station; ASI Kashmir Singh; and ASI Darbara Singh of Lopoke — by granting them the benefit of the doubt. SI Ram Lubhiya, the then incharge of Butala police post and another key accused, died during the course of the trial.
The case dates back to April 18, 1993, when two young constables — Surmukh Singh of village Muchhal and Sukhwinder Singh of village Khiala in Amritsar, both aged between 22 and 25 — were abducted and held in illegal custody. According to the CBI, Surmukh Singh was picked up around 6 p.m. by a police team led by Paramjit Singh, then SHO of Beas police station, while Sukhwinder Singh was detained earlier that day by SI Ram Lubhiya.
The following day, Sukhwinder’s parents were denied access to him at the Beas police station. Four days later, Majitha police, headed by SHO Dharam Singh, claimed to have killed two unidentified militants in an encounter. Their bodies were cremated as unclaimed.
Within a week, Lopoke police submitted an untraced report, stating that further investigation was unnecessary.
Following directions from the Supreme Court, the CBI began its investigation on December 26, 1995. Statements from the victims' families were recorded a year later, and the inquiry confirmed that the two youths killed in the alleged encounter were constables Sukhwinder Singh and Surmukh Singh.
The CBI registered a case on February 28, 1997, and filed a chargesheet on February 1, 1999, against Paramjit Singh, Dharam Singh, Kashmir Singh, Darbara Singh, and Ram Lubhiya under charges of criminal conspiracy, abduction, and destruction of evidence.
Sarabjit Singh Verka, counsel for the victim families, said the trial was delayed for over two decades due to multiple petitions filed by the accused, which were eventually dismissed. He said only 27 witnesses could be examined, as several had passed away and others turned hostile.
“After 32 years of the fake encounter, the court has finally delivered justice,” Verka said.