Abduction with intent to kill

For many Sikhs the name Sumedh Saini rings a solemn tone. Part of a handful of high police officials, Saini was the Superintendent of State Police in Chandigarh during the Troubles in Punjab. He reigned with fear, terror, and impunity.

While the wheels of justice may be slow, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), India’s premier investigating agency, has just released its indictment of Sumedh Saini. Saini has recently been indicted for abduction, illegal detention, and other offenses. While the charges pale against the thousands of ‘eliminations,’ for some they are taking solace for the CBI’s findings.

Total of four people were indicted by the CBI on Friday:

State Vigilance Bureau chief Saini, retired former Chandigarh DSP Baldev Singh Saini, Chandigarh SHO (Station House Officer) and ex-subinspector Harsahai Sharma and former subinspector now SHO Jagir Singh [link]

The findings are significant in face of his plum appointed position by Punjab Chief Minister, Parkash Badal, who had raised him to the head of the state’s Vigilance Bureau. While it will have little political traction, it points to the hypocrisy of the ‘banana republic’ that is the state of Punjab where the head of a bureau meant to guard against corruption is now being indicted for falsely arresting and torturing the state’s citizens.

Mr Saini is currently leading the Parkash Singh Badal government’s campaign targeting former chief minister Amarinder Singh and his associates. The CBI’s charges against him have come as certain embarrassment for the chief minister. [link]

It is still to be seen what will come from all this, will Saini actually be convicted and punished for his crimes? or will this just be another CBI indictment?