NEW DELHI, Feb 25 — Delhi Akali chief Paramjit Singh Sarna has accused the Bhagwant Mann led Punjab government of attempting to revive what he described as a dangerous police encounter culture in the state for political gain, following the killing of an accused in the Gurdaspur policemen murder case.
Reacting to reports that one of the three accused in the killing of an Assistant Sub Inspector and a Home Guard jawan at the Adhian checkpost near the International Border was killed in a police shootout near Puranashala on the Gurdaspur Mukerian road, Sarna said the sequence of events raises serious questions about due process and accountability. 
Punjab Police have stated that Ranjit Singh, one of the suspects in the killing of ASI Gurnam Singh and Home Guard Ashok Kumar, was shot dead during the encounter, while another accused has been arrested and a third remains absconding.
Sarna alleged that such encounter killings risk eroding public faith in the rule of law and could be used to send calculated political signals ahead of elections.
“The revival of encounter driven policing under the present dispensation points towards an attempt to appease a particular vote bank while projecting an image of swift justice,” he said in a statement issued here.
He further maintained that Punjab carries a long and painful memory of extra judicial methods being normalised in the name of maintaining order. Calling the development deeply disturbing, Sarna demanded the constitution of a time bound judicial inquiry monitored by a sitting High Court judge into the circumstances leading to the encounter killing.
“The people of Punjab deserve transparency and constitutional policing. Any deviation must be examined through an independent judicial mechanism to establish facts and responsibility,” he said.
