A Special CBI court in Mohali on Thursday sentenced former Punjab Police SSP Gurmeet Singh Randhawa to five years’ imprisonment in the 1992 disappearance case of Ludhiana-based transporter Amrik Singh Sakri.Randhawa was convicted on Wednesday, while the quantum of sentence was announced on Thursday.The conviction came nearly 34 years after transporter Amrik Singh Sakri was allegedly picked up by the Punjab Police from a wedding palace in Ludhiana and thereafter he disappeared.Co-accused constable Parminderjit Singh, alias Babbu, was acquitted in the case.Randhawa, who was then Deputy Superintendent of Police, Tarn Taran, was convicted under Sections 365 and 120B of the IPC. The court sentenced him to five years’ imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 for abduction, besides awarding a two-year jail term and a fine of Rs 25,000 for criminal conspiracy. Both sentences will run concurrently.Four other accused — ASI Jaswant Singh, Sub-Inspector Surinder Singh, Inspector Suba Singh and former Tarn Taran SSP Ajit Singh Sandhu — died during the trial.Sakri was allegedly picked up by a team of the Tarn Taran police from the marriage palace on November 25, 1992, where he was attending the wedding of his brother-in-law’s daughter.His family approached police and administrative authorities and sent telegrams to several officials seeking his release. However, he could not be found. In 1996, Sakri’s wife moved the Supreme Court through a habeas corpus petition, seeking details about her husband’s whereabouts.During the proceedings before the Supreme Court, the Punjab Government stated that Sakri had died and produced ‘bhog’ advertisements to support its claim. The family contested the assertion.Later, the apex court ordered a CBI probe into allegations of illegal cremation of unidentified bodies by the Punjab Police during the militancy period.The CBI cited 47 witnesses but only 16 could depose during the trial, as several others died before they could testify.