Chandigarh May 02:
On
April 29, a Punjab Congress delegation, including MPs Ravneet Singh
Bittu and Mohinder Singh Kaypee and MLA Raj Kumar Verka, met Home
Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde in his office in connection with the
Sarabjit Singh case. Also included in the delegation was Jaswinder
Singh, alias Rocky, a "proclaimed offender" in a murder case.
Booked
in 17 cases ranging from murder, attempt to murder, extortion,
kidnapping, illegal confinement, criminal conspiracy and violation of
Arms Act, Jaswinder's name and photograph tops the "criminals' list"
displayed at the Fazilka city police station. He has been acquitted in
four cases so far.
In
July 2008, Jaswinder was arrested by the Chandigarh Police Crime Branch
on charges of "masterminding" the murder of notorious gangster
Prabhjinder Singh Dimpy. According to the police, Jaswinder was a member
of Dimpy's gang but later fell out with him. A US-made .45 bore pistol,
suspected to be the murder weapon, with two magazines and seven live
cartridges were reportedly recovered from him. Jaswinder was later
released on bail.
On
August 29, 2012, the additional sessions court declared him a
"proclaimed offender" after he failed to appear for hearings in July and
August. Earlier that year, Jaswinder had contested the Assembly
elections from Fazilka as an independent candidate and came a close
second. Soon after the elections, he was arrested on the complaint of
Rajinder Singh, a former sarpanch, who alleged that he had tried to
kidnap him at gunpoint.
When
contacted, Bittu said they went to meet Shinde on an invitation from
Verka, who is also the vice-chairman of the National Commission for SC/
ST. "Other than me, MP Mohinder Singh Kaypee and two-three other people
known to Verka were present. Since Verka is the vice-chairman of the SC
commission and hails from the same district as Sarabjit, he urged the
Home Minister to send a team of medical specialists to Lahore to provide
treatment to him," he said.
Verka,
who was at Wagah border today to receive Sarabjit's family, claimed
that he did not know Jaswinder. "I do not know anyone by that name.
Shinde came out to the open verandah while talking to us, and many
people were standing around us," he claimed.