Overview

• An SSP-led departmental inquiry proposed three-year deductions in service, continued suspensions, frozen promotions and increments, withdrawal of salary additions and transfers out of Patiala for four inspectors and two other personnel.
• The CBI took over the criminal investigation on July 16, re-registering two FIRs on July 25 and is gathering evidence with no arrests made so far.
• Colonel Bath’s family welcomed the disciplinary steps as a sign of internal accountability but warned that administrative punishments alone cannot substitute criminal prosecution.
• The high court’s directive to move the probe followed allegations of pressure on Chandigarh police and a prolonged lack of arrests since the FIR in March 2024.
• Veterans’ groups and opposition parties have sustained protests and criticism to demand systemic reforms and enforce impartial investigations into police conduct.