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The informant, Darshan Singh (PW.14) stated how he came to the place of occurrence on hearing a commotion. He found Jit Singh @ Parmi, Gurmit Singh and Kulwant Singh quarrelling with Sohail Singh, PW.15, Chamkaur Singh (deceased) and Maghar Singh (since deceased). Brick bats were being hurled and dangs and sticks were being used. In the meantime Ranjit Singh came there alongwith his gunmen and gunmen of his father Jathedar Jagdev Singh Talwandi. He names three of the gunmen who came with Ranjit Singh, namely Pargat Singh, Parmajit Singh and Lakhwinder Singh, the appellants herein. On the exhortation of Ranjit Singh, Parmi snatched the rifle from gunman Paramjit Singh and fired shots towards Chamkaur Singh injuring him on his neck, as a result of which he fell down. The specific allegation against Kulwant Singh and Gurmit Singh by this witness in examination- in-chief is to the effect that they assaulted Sohail Singh and Maghar Singh with dangs and sticks. Similarly Pargat Singh had inflicted injury to him on his head with the butt of his rifle. On alarm being raised, they ran away. He further stated the motive for the offence, namely the insistence on the part of Jit Singh @ Parmi, Kulwant Singh and Gurmit Singh in preventing Sohail Singh and Maghar Singh from using the path near the village pond. In the last sentence of his examination-in-chief he stated that they did not inflict any injury to any member of the defence party.

PW.15, Sohail Singh claimed that he and Chamkaur Singh, deceased, were returning to their house from the fields at about 8.00 p.m. when Gurmit Singh, Kulwant Singh and Jit Singh hurled brick bats at them. In the meantime Maghar Singh and Darshan Singh came there. Thereafter Ranjit Singh accompanied by three gunmen came there. He has named them as Paramjit Singh, Lakhwinder Singh and Pargat Singh, the appellants herein. On the exhortation of Ranjit Singh, Jit Singh @ Parmi took the rifle from Paramjit Singh and fired shots hitting Chamkaur Singh on the back of his neck, as a result of which he died. Gurmit Singh and Kulwant Singh gave dang blows to him and Maghar Singh while Pargat Singh hit on the head of Darshan Singh, PW.14, with the butt of his rifle. Thereafter they ran away. This witness was brought to the Civil Hospital, Raikot and thereafter to Ludhiana. He remained admitted in the hospital for about a month. This witness had received injuries on his left arm. In cross- examination, when confronted with the statement made in the course of investigation where he had not named Kulwant Singh and Gurmit Singh as the two persons who caused him injuries with dangs, this witness had asserted that he had stated before the police that they had assaulted him with dangs. This witness also asserted that they had not caused any injury to any of the accused. He had not noticed Paramjit Singh receiving any injury. He denied the suggestion that Paramjit Singh was assaulted by three persons who had mercilessly beaten him and tried to snatch his rifle. The witness asserted that in the statement recorded under section 161 Cr. P.C. as also in the statement made before the Magistrate he had stated that Pargat Singh had given a blow with the butt of rifle to Darshan Singh but such a statement is not found either in his statement under section 161 Cr. P.C. or in his statement before the Magistrate. This witness denied the suggestion that he was known to Kuldip Singh, proclaimed offender, who was a relative of Jagdev Singh Talwandi, or that he was employed as the private gunman of Jagdev Singh Talwandi and that he armed with a private carbine had come alongwith other gunmen while Constable Paramjit Singh was armed with AK-47 assault rifle and Constable Lakhwinder Singh and Pargat Singh were armed with SLR rifles. However, in his statement before the police these facts have been recorded, though this witness admitted in his deposition that he could not distinguish between a carbine, SLR rifle and AK-47 rifle. This witness asserted that he came to know the names of the appellants for the first time 10-15 days prior to the date of the occurrence. He had no talk with them at any time nor had he any dealings with them. He denied the suggestion that he had been tutored to name them. This witness denied the suggestion that he had stated in his statement before the Magistrate that the police arrived within 10-15 minutes of the incident and made enquiries from them, but in the statement made by him before the Magistrate it is so recorded. He further claimed that Darshan Singh and Maghar Singh met him 10-15 days after the occurrence. No resident of his village came to meet him in the hospital. His statement was recorded by the police three days after the occurrence.

It appears that the investigation was later entrusted to DSP Gurmit Singh, PW.13 who took over the investigation on 26th December, 1996. From the deposition of PW.13 it appears that on 26th December, 1996, he did not conduct any investigation, but on 27th December, 1996 he alongwith Inspector Gur Tejinder Singh, PW.18, SI Jagir Singh, PW.11 and SI Gurcharan Singh, PW.16 and other police officials met at the bus stand Raikot preparing to go to a village, the name of which he did not remember. When they had gone about 1 Kms. ahead of village Talwandi, they saw Jit Singh, Kulwant Singh (since acquitted), Pargat Singh and Lakhwinder Singh, appellants. The rifles of Pargat Singh and Lakhwinder Singh were seized and taken into possession vide recovery memos Ex. PDD and Ex.PEE. These memos were attested by SI Jagir Singh, PW.11 and SI Gurcharan Singh, PW.16. On 28th December, 1996, he came to Civil Hospital, Ludhiana and recorded the statement of Sohail Singh, PW.15. He also recorded statements of some other formal witnesses. This witness was declared hostile by the prosecution, though it is not very clear to us why. In his cross-examination he stated that he was keen to record the statement of Sohail Singh PW.15 who was a material witness but he also admitted that between 24th and 26th December, 1996 he did not make any effort to search Sohail Singh. There was no note in the case diary as to when the copy of the medico legal report was received by him. He admitted that he was present at the place of occurrence when PW.18 was conducting the investigation of the case. It was only on 26th December, 1996 that he was entrusted with the investigation but on that day he did not conduct any investigation. He then stated that he had seen the MLR of Sohail Singh on 27th December, 1996. On 28th December, 1996 he handed over the investigation of the case to another police officer.

This witness again accompanied the police party led by the then investigating officer DSP Gurmit Singh, PW.13 and deposed about the arrest of four persons including Lakhwinder Singh and Pargat Singh, appellants herein. Their rifles were seized by the policy party vide Memos Ex. PDD & Ex. PEE. The recovery memos were signed by him and SI Jagir Singh. This witness has further deposed that he was posted at Lohat Baddi which is at a distance of 14-15 kms. from bus stand Raikot. On 24th December, 1996, per chance he happened to meet Gur Tejinder Singh, PW.18 at the bus stand, Raikot. Similarly he met SI Jagir Singh, PW.11 per chance. They were at the bus stand for about 10 minutes when Darshan Singh came and lodged his report. After his statement was recorded, he alongwith Gur Tejinder Singh went to the place of occurrence in a private vehicle and Darshan Singh, PW.14 also sat in the vehicle of PW.18. Further investigation was commenced at about 6.45 a.m. on 25th December, 1996. This witness has stated that he did not see Darshan Singh at the place of occurrence on 25th December, 1996. He denied the suggestion that appellants Lakhwinder Singh and Pargat Singh were arrested on 25th December, 1996 and the story of their being arrested on 27th December, 1996 and seizure of their weapons was a cooked up story. He admitted that no independent witness was associated with the arrest and seizure of fire arms of these two appellants. This witness has denied that in his statement recorded on 25th December, 1996 he had stated that he met Gur Tejinder Singh, PW.18 at the bus stand Raikot, though from the evidence of PW.18 Gur Tejinder Singh, it is clear that he met SI Gurcharan Singh at the bus stand Raikot and the latter handed over to him the two parcels and the copy of the post mortem report.