Valtoha elected MLA twice without being acquitted in ’83 murder case
No chargesheet was submitted formally in the case; police files are also missing
CHANDIGARH : Even though he was not acquitted in the highprofile 1983 murder of a doctor in Patti in the Majha hinterland, once a militancy hotbed, Virsa Singh Valtoha became an Akali MLA twice. Police files on the case are also missing, investigations by the Hindustan Times have revealed.
Dr Sudarshan Kumar Trehan was shot dead in his clinic on September 30, 1983, by militants while treating a patient. Two men, Baldev Singh and Hardev Singh, who were arrested on November 15, 1984; said Valtoha was also involved.
However, the matter was hushed up. No chargesheet was presented formally by the police accusing Valtoha of murder under section 173 of the Code of Criminal Code (CRPC), as is evident from the file records procured by the Hindustan Times.
It is yet to be understood how Valtoha, despite the murder case, managed to avoid rigorous checks and police scrutiny and was appointed to the Subordinate Service Selection Board, Punjab, before being selected chief parliamentary secretary,
Punjab, by the Akali government, apart from being an MLA twice.
FRESH PROBE DEMANDED
In a complaint on Thursday to SPS Parmar, inspector general of police (IGP), border range, Amritsar; the Punjab Human Rights Organisation (PHRO) under justice Ajit Singh Bains (retd) has demanded a fresh probe in the murder case and the disappearance of the police files of the case (FIR No. 346 dated September 30,1983) regis-
tered under section 302, 307, 452, 34 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) at the Patti police station in Amritsar, Punjab.
The Punjab Human Rights Organisation also questioned how a murder accused such as Valtoha could manage to get a passport and state protection, with gunmen.
When contacted, Parmar said he had marked an urgent inquiry to the Tarn Taran senior superintendent of police (SSP) and asked for a report to be filed immediately.
Interestingly, Hindustan
Times investigations also revealed that the FIR register still mentions Valotha as a ‘proclaimed offender’ even though he managed to get bail in this case in February 1991 from then district sessions judge JS Sidhu.
Baldev Singh and Hardev Singh were acquitted by the court in November 1990 as they delinked their case from Valtoha. In prison after Operation Blue Star, he was not allowed to come to court because of section 268 of the CRPC (which prohibits a person from being removed from prison).
‘NOT NECESSARY TO GET RECORDS’
When contacted, Valotha said he had a copy of the bail order but not the acquittal orders in the case, claiming at the same time that he had been acquitted. “I have got the records of my acquittal in various cases nor deemed it necessary to do so.
He said the police and prosecution were at fault for not maintaining records related to the case.
While alleging that Valtoha had been given political patronage, the Punjab Human Rights Organisation wanted the role of Patti police officials probed for issuing security clearance reports in Valtoha’s favour when he was appointed to various prestigious posts in the Akali government.
Valtoha had also declared before the Election Commission that there were no pending criminal cases against him.
WHAT THE ELECTION OFFICE SAYS
Dr S Karuna Raju, the chief electoral officer, has said that misrepresentation of information before the Election Commission regarding criminal cases against a candidate will be dealt with according to rules.