Patiala, Sept 18 — Former Inspector Suba Singh, 82, convicted in the 1993 Tarn Taran fake encounter case, died at Rajindra Hospital on Wednesday, six days after being brutally attacked inside Patiala Central Jail.
On September 11, Suba Singh, along with former DSP Gurbachan Singh and Inderjit Singh, was assaulted by fellow inmate Sandeep Singh alias Sunny. Sunny, accused of murdering Hindu leader Sudhir Suri in Amritsar in 2022, allegedly sharpened spoons into weapons and struck the trio on the head and face.
While Gurbachan Singh and Inderjit Singh were discharged after two days of observation, Suba Singh’s condition was critical. He sustained severe facial and head injuries, was admitted to the ICU, and underwent neurosurgery. “He was on ventilator support but did not survive,” said Rajindra Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr. Vishal Chopra.
Suba Singh, Gurbachan Singh and others had been sentenced on August 5 to rigorous life imprisonment for the 1993 fake encounter in Tarn Taran, in which seven people were killed.
Patiala SSP Varun Sharma said cases of attempt to murder had already been registered against Sunny, and murder charges would now be added. Jail officials noted that Sunny, identified as a high-risk inmate because of his radical leanings, has frequently been shifted between barracks for security reasons.
Meanwhile, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Harjinder Singh Dhami alleged that Sunny was being mistreated in custody. Dhami claimed that despite a court order for his medical examination at Rajindra Hospital, jail authorities ignored the directive and later transferred Sunny from Patiala Jail to Sangrur Jail.
“The authorities have subjected Sunny to custodial violence and denied access to his family instead of ensuring a fair investigation,” Dhami alleged in a statement.
