Assault case: Governor tells Punjab DGP to file FIR with police names, backs Colonel’s wife

Colonel Pushpinder Batth of the Indian Army and his son Angad were allegedly assaulted by three Punjab Police SHOs—Harjinder Dhillon, Rony, and Harry Boparai—over a parking dispute near Rajindra Hospital Dhaba Patiala on March 13.

Jaswinder Kaur Bath, the wife of Colonel Pushpinder Singh Bath, who was allegedly assaulted by Punjab Police personnel in Patiala, revealed that a police inspector informed her that the names of certain police officers could not be included in the First Information Report (FIR).

During a press conference on Friday, she shared that the inspector explained, “We cannot add the names of some police personnel in the FIR because they have been recognized as encounter specialists by the DIG and are about to be promoted.” He assured her that the police would take action but insisted that those names would not appear in the report.

Also Read: Assault case: They treat us like second grade citizens, think Army is nothing, says Colonel’s wife on Punjab Police

Jaswinder found this reasoning to be unfair, as it seemed that the officers' awards and upcoming promotions were shielding them from accountability, despite her family's suffering. She felt this position undermined her pursuit of justice.

She also mentioned that she met with the governor, who was visibly moved to tears when she spoke to him and showed him images of the brutality. "He called the DGP and told him that the FIR is my right, and it should include all names, urging him to take necessary action. The governor told us that if the FIR is not registered, we should reach out to him again. I want to express my gratitude to the governor for standing with us," she said.