Mohali: A special CBI court on Wednesday convicted former Tarn Taran SSP Gurmeet Singh Randhawa under Sections 365 (abduction with intent secretly and wrongfully to confine a person) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for his role in the 1992 disappearance of transporter Amrik Singh Sakri.
He was never seen again. Despite appeals to senior police officials and then Punjab chief minister Beant Singh, his family could not trace him. The case hit a roadblock when key evidence—including witness statements, wedding photographs, video footage, and police logbooks—went missing from court records. The documents were later reconstructed on orders from the Punjab and Haryana high court.
Sakri was picked up by a Tarn Taran police team on November 25, 1992, from Hotel Amaltas in Ludhiana during his niece’s wedding. Though charges were framed in 2000, trial proceedings were stayed for over two decades following petitions by the accused officers. The trial finally commenced in 2022. Of the 47 witnesses cited by the CBI, only 16 deposed as many passed away during the delay. 1997–2000: Supreme Court orders a CBI investigation into Sakri’s disappearance and broader allegations of mass illegal cremations by Punjab Police. November 11, 2026: Special CBI court in Mohali convicts former SSP Randhawa under IPC Sections 365 and 120B, acquits constable Parminderjit Singh, and abates trial against three deceased officers.
Accused officers Jaswant Singh, Surinder Singh, and Suba Singh also died before the trial concluded.
1996: Sakri’s wife files a habeas corpus petition in the Supreme Court; the Punjab government claims Sakri is dead and submits ‘bhog’ notices, which the family disputes.
