Mohali, July 5 -- Bringing the curtains down on a 35-year-old custodial disappearance case, a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Mohali on Saturday sentenced a retired Punjab Police head constable to five years' rigorous imprisonment (RI) for his role in the 1991 abduction and illegal detention of armyman Baljit Singh (30), who disappeared from police custody in Tarn Taran and was never traced. Special judicial magistrate (CBI) Karanvir Singh Maju held Kashmir Singh, now 56, guilty under Sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 365 (kidnapping or abduction), 344 (wrongful confinement for more than 10 days) and 330 (voluntarily causing hurt to extort information or confession) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The court found Kashmir, who was a head constable when he was dismissed from service in 2005, that he had acted in conspiracy with former station house officer (SHO), sub-inspector (SI) Suba Singh, assistant sub-inspectors (ASIs) Dalbir Singh and Ravel Singh, all of whom were convicted in the same case in 2023. The case dates back to August 7, 1991, when Baljit, a resident of Mallowal Santa village in Tarn Taran district and an armyman, was allegedly picked up by the police from Chabal bus stand. According to the prosecution, he was taken to Chabal police station, where he was illegally confined for nearly 10 days, tortured to extract information regarding militants and an alleged snatching case and subsequently disappeared from police custody. His whereabouts have remained unknown ever since. Following his disappearance, Baljit's wife Balbir Kaur approached the Punjab and Haryana high court through a habeas corpus petition seeking directions for his production. Acting on the high court orders, the CBI registered the case in 2006 and launched an investigation into the alleged custodial disappearance. The court observed that though the CBI did not initially include Kashmir in its chargesheet because it could not conclusively establish his identity during the investigation, he was later summoned under Section 319 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) after eyewitnesses specifically identified him during the trial. Instead of appearing before the court, he absconded and was declared a proclaimed offender (PO) in July 2010. He remained on the run for more than 15 years before being arrested by the CBI on November 12, 2025. While recording the conviction, the court noted that Kashmir neither challenged the order summoning him nor the PO before any appellate court. It further observed that he never surrendered voluntarily and remained absconding until his arrest, a factor that weighed against him during sentencing. A key piece of evidence relied upon by the prosecution was the testimony of Paramjit Singh, Baljit Singh's brother, who identified Kashmir in the court as one of the policemen involved in the abduction. Paramjit deposed that he saw Suba Singh, Dalbir Singh, Ravel Singh and Kashmir arrive at Chabal bus stand in a blue police Gypsy and forcibly take Baljit to Chabal police station on August 7, 1991. The court also relied on the statements of Baljit's brothers, Gurbhag Singh and Dilbagh Singh, who testified that they repeatedly visited the police station carrying food and clothes for Baljit during his illegal detention. They stated that they saw Kashmir, along with the other accused officers, at the police station and noticed injury marks on Baljit's body, indicating that he had been subjected to severe beatings while in custody. According to their testimony, Baljit later disappeared from police custody and was never seen again. The prosecution further produced official police posting records showing that Kashmir, bearing belt number 3956/TT, was posted at Chabal police station during the relevant period in 1991. The court noted that the accused failed to produce any evidence contradicting these official records or proving that he had been posted elsewhere at the time of the incident. Rejecting the defence claim that Kashmir joined Punjab Police only in 1998 and was posted at Chabal police station only in 1992, the court observed that the accused had failed to substantiate the assertion with any documentary evidence or witness testimony despite being given sufficient opportunity. The court also relied on its predecessor's judgment delivered in 2023, which had already concluded that Baljit had been abducted, illegally detained, tortured to extract information and had subsequently disappeared from police custody. During the sentencing hearing, the defence sought leniency on the grounds of Kashmir's advanced age and retirement from service. However, the court declined to take a sympathetic view, observing that offences involving abuse of official authority strike at the rule of law and require punishment that reflects society's conscience. Referring to Supreme Court judgments on sentencing, the court held that deterrence, protection of society and recognition of victims' rights are important considerations while awarding punishment in such cases. The court sentenced Kashmir to two years' rigorous imprisonment under Section 120-B read with Sections 365, 344 and 330 IPC, five years under Section 365 IPC, and three years each under Sections 344 and 330 IPC. It also imposed a total fine of Rs.10,000. The substantive sentences are to run concurrently, making the effective sentence five years' rigorous imprisonment. The verdict comes four years after the death of his wife, Balbir Kaur, who spent decades pursuing justice through the courts but did not live to witness the conviction of the last remaining accused in the case....