Chandigarh, May 3 -- The Punjab and Haryana high court on Friday sought a response from the Punjab government and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on a plea moved by a couple from Ludhiana seeking an independent probe into a March 13 encounter by the Punjab police.

The high court bench of justice Sanjiv Berry has sought a response by July 17 on the plea from the parents of the 22-year-old, who was killed in that encounter.

Notably, some of the cops who carried out this encounter are facing allegations of assaulting Colonel Pushpinder Singh Bath on the intervening night of March 13-14 in Patiala. The delay in the registration of FIR and mishandling of the case resulted in widespread criticism of the state government as well as polic...