Chandigarh, March 30— Two days after the Punjab and Haryana High Court questioned the state over its delay in registering an FIR in the Colonel Pushpinder Singh Bath assault case, the Army officer and his family met Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday to discuss the case’s progress.
The meeting, scheduled two days earlier, lasted around 25 minutes. Along with Col Bath and his wife Jaswinder Kaur, Patiala BJP leader Gurtej Singh Dhillon also accompanied the family.
Following the meeting, Kaur reiterated her demand for an independent probe, expressing distrust in the Patiala police. “We will meet Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann tomorrow and see what he says. We have informed Rajnath Singh about the harassment we have faced,” she said.
Dhillon stated that the Defence Minister assured the family of the Army’s support. “He has assured us that the Army will stand by the officer and ensure justice for Col Bath and his family,” he said.
On Friday, Punjab’s justification for the delayed FIR registration—citing farmers’ protests—backfired in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
The Bench asked the state to specify how many FIRs were registered in Patiala district between March 18 and 23, when the police claimed they were on high alert due to the protests at the Khanauri and Shambhu borders.
“You are not obliging anyone by placing the cops under suspension,” Justice Sandeep Moudgil remarked, directing the state to file an affidavit detailing the number of FIRs registered during the period.
