Orissa Police : 2 Orissa PSOs jailed for ‘accidentally’ killing DIG

More than four years after former deputy inspector general Jaswinder Singh was shot by one of his security guards, a sessions court in Koraput district on Monday sentenced his two PSOs to jail.
On October 16, 2006, Jaswinder Singh, the DIG of the Naxal-infested south-western police range, was killed when the 9 mm pistol of his personal security officer Sheshananda Sarangi went off “accidentally” as they were travelling in a jeep. Another PSO, Ashish Sarangi, tried to make it look like a Maoist attack. The court sentenced Seshananda to 10 years in prison and asked him to pay a penalty of Rs 20,000. Ashish was awarded three-year jail term and fined Rs 10,000.
KORAPUT: A Koraput court on Monday convicted two personal security officers (PSOs) for their involvement in the killing of former DIG (South-west range) Jaswinder Singh five years ago.
The IPS officer died after being hit by a bullet fired from the .9 mm pistol of one of his two PSOs, identified as Sesananda Sarangi, on October 24, 2006 near Badakutinga in Koraput's Laxmipur police station area. The other PSO was identified as Asish Sarangi.
Singh, DIG of southwestern range, headquartered at Sunabeda town in Koraput district, was shot dead while he was on his way to neighbouring Rayagada district on official work. He was accompanied by the PSOs at the time of the incident. Although the PSOs said it was a case of "accidental firing", police held both the PSOs responsible for the incident and arrested them, three days after the crime. Initially, police blamed Maoists for the killing on the basis of the feedback provided by the PSOs. But the investigators later turned focus towards the guards who changed their version. They claimed that Singh was stopped en-route by some people near Badakutinga village in Koraput district to ask for donations for a local festival. The guards claimed that when one of them tried to disperse the crowd using his official pistol, it went off accidentally and the bullet hit Singh in the head. He died on the spot. The DIG's widow, Paramjit Kaur, had filed a petition in the Orissa High Court in May 2008, seeking a CBI probe into the killing.
Convicting Sesananda of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, additional district and session judge (Koraput) Suresh Kumar Pattnaik sentenced him to 10 years in prison and also imposed a fine of Rs 20,000. The other PSO was given a three-year prison term and a fine of Rs 10,000 for causing disappearance of evidence and giving false information to screen an offender. Sesananda will have to remain in jail for two more years and Asish will have to undergo an additional imprisonment of nine months if they fail to pay the fine, the judge ruled.
Expressing disappointment over the judgment, defence lawyer Satyanarayan Adhikari said, "We will approach the high court."
However, government counsel Prabhakar Patnaik said, "We are satisfied. We will decide on our next course of action after consulting the official concerned." Koraput (Orissa), Mar 28 (PTI) A local court here today sentenced two security personnel to rigorous imprisonment for 10 years and three years respectively in connection with the death of Deputy Inspector General of Police in a firing incident in 2006.
DIG of South-Western Range Jaswinder Singh was killed in an accidental firing from the pistol of one of his Personal Security Officers (PSOs) on October 24, 2006.
Additional District and Session Judge, Koraput, S K Patnaik convicted Seshananda Sarangi, one of the PSOs of Singh under section 304 of IPC (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and sentenced him to 10-years imprisonment.
Sarangi was also ordered to pay a fine of Rs 20,000.
The second PSO Ashish Sarangi was convicted under section 201 of the IPC (causing disappearance of evidence) and was sentenced to three years imprisonment and a fine of Rs 10,000.
In case of inability to pay the fines, two years additional jail term for Seshananda and nine months more for Ashish had been slapped by the judge.
On the fateful day, the DIG, with his two PSOs, was proceeding towards Rayagada when the incident occurred.
At Batakutigaon under Laxmipur police limits of Koraput district, a bullet pierced into the the body of the IPS officer from Seshananda''s 9 mm pistol killing him on the spot.
PTI COR BB RG/ any other sources..