The Punjab Human Rights Organization collected information to the effect that more than 50 Sikh youths had been killed in fake encounters by the security forces in Faridkot district alone since the imposition of Central rule in Punjab on May 12, 1987.
The aim of the Centre and its collaborators was to annihilate youths and bring the Sikh community to submission so that its struggle for rights under the existing Constitution and for autonomy were put down with brutal force.
The report was based on a serious of detailed accounts collected by a five-member team of the P.H.R.O. which visited the places where such fake encounters were purported to have taken place. At least a dozen youths were identified by the public. They were taken in custody by the security forces in full view of the public. They were taken away in handcuffs and eliminated at the instance of the men “at the top”.
At least another dozen youths were killed by the security forces but an announcement was, not made either locally or at the State headquarters. Most of these youths were brought from outside Faridkot district and killed in the district.
Twenty-six “unidentified” youths were shown to have been killed by the security forces in encounters and announcements of these encounters were officially made. All of them were suspected to be known to the police and were in their custody after they were rounded up from different places.
Three youths – Gurdev Singh Sattanwala, Gurmail Singh Preetnagar Moga and Nirmal Singh alongwith two others – were arrested at Ajitwala together with a truckload of arms but were killed near Kapure on June 13. In this case no announcement of the whereabouts of the two youths were made but it was suspected that they too had been eliminated.
One Babu Singh of Kaleke was picked up from the Moga Bus Stand on June 30. After interrogation and torture, Babu Singh was killed near Moga Octroi Post No. 3 and his dead body was cremated as “unidentified”.
Others killed by the security forces included Jaswant Singh Santu of Killi Chahal, Sukhdev Singh Deba of Muktsar, Bhupinder Singh of Mithu Khera, Amrik Singh Duneke, Manjit Singh Mini Baba of Moga, Bhag Singh of Santuwal, Sukhwinder Singh of Lohama and Kuldip Singh Raonke of Kaleke.
The enquiry Committee could not know the fate of Harbhajan Singh Khosa of Marak, Baldev Singh Manakpur, Bhupinder Singh Jarewal and Balbir Singh Rauli who were picked up by the Moga police in May, 1987. The P.H.R.O. requested Amnesty International to pay attention to the blatant violation of human rights and the rules of law by the Central authorities in Punjab through their hired men.
THE POLICE CLAIMS REBUTTED AUGUST 7, 1987
The Chairman of Punjab Human Rights organization, Mr. A.S. Bains issued the following statement:
I have carefully examined a Punjab police statement about the alleged encounters in Faridkot district. The statement is a propaganda gimmick borne out of guilty conscience:
The police have admitted only the 25 deaths and has still not accounted for about two dozen deaths. I repeat my charge that the number of those killed is about 50 of which at least a dozen youths belonged to other districts. They were brought to Faridkot district where it appears to have a more pliable authority.
The police claim that the encounters were genuine is prima facia incredible. In each case a stereotyped modus operandi is given out. It is claimed that a certain number of “terrorists” were challenged by security forces to stop. Instead of halting, these “terrorists” opened fire. The security forces returned the fire. As a result certain number of persons were killed while one or two of them escaped. It is significant to note that none from the security forces suffered even a scratch and only the “terrorists” were killed although they were purported to be the first to open fire.
The Punjab police have laid considerable emphasis on the absence of “innocence” of those killed. The police have no authority to dub anybody criminal”. Such description can only be done by the law courts. Every citizen, in the eyes of the law, is innocent unless proved guilty by the courts. The police has no authority whatsoever, to describe any person “criminal” or “terrorist” or by any other such name unless it has evidence, produces it before a court and convinces it of the charges.
The police tendency to do away with “due process of law” and its unwise insistence on monopolizing all powers of prosecution, trial and appellate authority are at odds with our secular, democratic State. That is precisely why I describe the present Punjab state as a Police State.
It is hypocritical under these circumstances to talk of non-receipt of complaints by the Punjab police about fake encounters from members of the public. Ours is the only human rights organization internationally accepted as such. Who will furnish information and make complaints when human rights workers are constantly shadowed and harassed? Two of our prominent activists -Advocate Gurcharan Singh Ghuman and Dr. Rajinderpaul Singh – were arrested, the latter twice in one fortnight.
Let there be a judicial enquiry into each case of the alleged encounter. Our organization requests Amnesty International and other human rights organizations in India and abroad to send their teams to Punjab to see for themselves the oppression let loose by the present Punjab administration.
I would like to caution my countrymen not to gloat over the fake encounters in Punjab. The problem in Punjab is political and not one of law and order. The current approach will only aggravate rather than solve the problem.
