Police murder of Ranjit Singh: Kin of slain teen seek CBI probe, refuse to cremate body

Gurdaspur: The family of 19-year-old Ranjit Singh, a suspect in the Feb 21 murder of two cops who was later killed in a police encounter on Feb 25, on Thursday announced that they will start another protest to demand a CBI probe into the killing of the youth and will not cremate his body till their demand is met. Ranjit's uncle Harwinder Singh said the body had been kept in a freezer for now. He added they will conduct the cremation only after the govt announces an inquiry either by the CBI or by a sitting judge of the high court. "We also want the police to identify and register FIRs against police personnel responsible for the incident," he said.Ranjit was a suspect in the killing of ASI Gurnam Singh and home guard Ashok Kumar at Gurdaspur's Adhian police post, just 1km from Pak border. On Feb 25, at 3am, police had taken him for the recovery of a weapon when he allegedly escaped from custody. When he was found some hours later, he allegedly shot at the cops and was shot dead in retaliatory fire, claimed cops. The police's version has, however, come under sharp criticism from civilian, farmers' and political groups. The uncle said they will hold another protest in Gurdaspur on March 9 to press their demands.Two other suspects in the policemen's killings, Dilawar Singh, and Inderjit Singh, have since been arrested. Their families have also alleged that the trio had been framed in the killing of the policemen. Ranjit's family has alleged that the encounter was fake. Dilbagh Singh, father of Dilawar, said Ranjit's father was in the Gulf and had been arrested for violating a traffic rule. "The family also wants him to come back so he could have a last glimpse of his son," he added.He also questioned the police's claims of the three youth having links in Pakistan and said an impartial inquiry into the case would lay bare the facts and the theory of police.