In his judgment, Additional District and Sessions Judge S K Aggarwal, has “ridiculed” the prosecution saying they “failed to connect any of the accused with the charges levelled against them in the chargesheet or FIR.

“The prosecution has not been able to bring home guilt to the accused for the offences aforementioned at least beyond the shadow of reasonable doubt. So, providing the benefit of doubt to the accused, they are ordered to be acquitted of the charges framed against them,” the judge categorically stated.

What is being seen as a major factor aiding Kang’s acquittal is Sub-Inspector (S-I) Gurdeep Singh taking a U-turn on his statements recorded in the FIR in 2002. S-I Singh, who had brought Kang to the PGI after he was injured in the shootout, has now claimed that Kang was not in his senses due to the bullet injury and was unable to move on his own and that he (Kang) was taken away forcefully by his supporters gathered outside the PGI Emergency.

Exposing the loopholes in the prosecution’s contention, Defence Counsel A S Sukhija argued that the star witness has claimed that Kang was semiconscious and unable to escape on his own. Therefore, added Sukhija, the entire episode cannot be interpreted as an “escape”.

S-I Gurdeep Singh had also claimed in his examination-in-chief that he did not, on his own, witness any of the five accused — Surinder Singh alias Lucky, Gurvinder Singh, Ashok Kumar, Parvinder Singh, Tanvir Singh — take away Kang from his vehicle.

The case

Kiranbir Singh Kang was booked by the Punjab Police for the murder of an Akali worker at a public rally in Kharar on July 2, 2004. Having suffered a bullet injury in his leg during the shootout, he was brought to the PGI by a team of eight police personnel, led by Sub-Inspector Gurdeep Singh. With support from his supporters Kang allegedly escaped the hospital after reportedly learning that he along and his rival