Less than a month after the Punjab Police found itself in the dock for making a dead man talk, the State has now informed the Punjab and Haryana High Court that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been constituted to re-examine the case.The State police, on the previous date of hearing, was admonished for relying on a statement allegedly recorded months after a witness had died. “Considering the gravity of the discrepancies adduced in the investigation of the FIR, the Commissioner of Police, Ludhiana, vide his orders dated May 6 constituted a four-member SIT under the chairmanship of a DIG-rank senior IPS officer to ensure professional, transparent and lapse-proof investigation of the said case,” Justice Sumeet Goel’s Bench was told, as the matter came up for resumed hearing.Taking on record an affidavit filed in the matter, Justice Goel fixed the matter for further hearing on July 2, before directing a responsible officer of the SIT to remain present in the court, along with the case record.Justice Goel had earlier minced no words while flagging the glaring anomaly: “The situation appears to be inexplicable.” The controversy arose after a senior counsel pointed out that the police, while presenting the challan, had relied upon a statement dated September 19, 2025, of a person — despite his death on May 29, 2025. Taking serious note of the timeline that apparently defied logic, procedure and the most basic tenets of criminal investigation, Justice Goel had directed the Special Director-General of Police (Law & Order), Punjab, to look into the matter before filing a report by way of an affidavit.Further tightening the scrutiny, Justice Goel had directed the SHO concerned to remain present along with the case diary, while making it clear that accountability might not stop at paperwork. Justice Goel also kept open the question of transferring the investigation to the CBI, indicating that the matter could escalate beyond the state police’s domain, if the explanation failed to satisfy judicial scrutiny. “The question, as to whether further investigation of the FIR in question be handed over to CBI, is kept open,” the Bench had asserted.An FIR in the matter was registered in August last year for murder and other offences at a police station in Ludhiana under Sections 103,61-2 and of the 238 BNS. The matter was placed before Justice Goel’s Bench after an accused moved the court seeking anticipatory bail.