I, Mohinder Singh Grewal son of Rajinder Singh Grewal, resident of 1-G, Sarabha Nagar, Ludhiana, Punjab, do hereby solemnly declare and affirm as under:—

  1. That I am an Advocate at Ludhiana. I passed my M.A. Degree from Government College, Ludhiana in 1975 and passed my degree in Law from Punjab University, Chandigarh, in 1978.
  2. That I was born on December 9, 1955 and I am married. I am a Sikh by faith and as per Sikh tenets I wear long bair, beard, turban and steel bangle etc.

Sukhminder Singh alias Sukhi who is facing extradition proceedings in U.S.A. is my cousin ¢ His father and my mother are brother and sister born of the same parents).

  1. That on 16.9.1986, two policemen in civil clothes came to my house at about 5 p.m. and told me that the Inspector of the Crime Investigation Agency (C.I.A.) wanted to see me immediately. I was previously also called to the C.I.A. twice. Once to enquire about Sukhi’s whereabouts about which I had no knowledge. Second time to get Sukhi’s photograph identified. So judging that it might be in that connection I went with those persons and did not even tell anyone else in the house about my going. My parents and my elder brother with whom I jive in our family home did not know until next day that I had been taken into police custody. Later on I came to know that 5 or 6 other armed policemen were posted around my house at that time. On reaching the C.I.A. the Inspector asked me about the whereabouts of Sukhi. As 1 was not aware of that I told him my position but he did not listen to me and asked a policeman to put me in the lock-up. The lock-up was 10’x12′ and we were about seven persons in it. We had to sleep on the floor with only a single covering that too was very dirty.
  2. That at about midnight two policemen asked me to get up and they blind-folded me. Tijen I was taken outside and they asked me to take off my clothes and later started torturing me. In between they kept asking me if I could tell anything about Sukhi’s hideouts and I had nothing to say about that. The methods of torture which they applied on are listed below: —

(i) One person pulled my hair backwards while he kept my back erect with the support to his knees. Other persons pulled my legs apart to an extent that I had to scream in pain. In the meantime two persons with their boots on stood on my feet.

(ii) They made lie with my face downwards and kept an iron rod about 1 meter in length and 5 inches in diameter and weighing about one Quintal on my legs. Then two or three persons stood on that rod and started pressing it both ways alternately causing acute pain in my legs.

(iii) They repeated the same exercise as in Para but this time with my face upwards and using a longer wooden piece square in shape. They kept on torturing and asking me questions for more than an hour or so. But I had no information to offer, so they took me back to the lock-up and told me to remove the cloth from my eyes.

  1. That on 17.9.86 I was taken by about 10 police officials ina police van to Sahnewal Police Station about 15 Km from Ludhiana. I was not taken straight to that place but was first taken in the opposite direction and later also a very circuitous route. At Sahnewal I was kept in a lock-up 10’x10′. There I had to sleep on a cement shelf and was given two dirty and torn blankets. My presence at that place was kept secret and I could communicate only with the watchman on duty. Even the barred door of the lock-up was covered by a blanket so that no one could see me from outside.
  2. That after about five days I was taken out in a Police Van by about 6-7 police officials in the evening. After about two hours I was taken to Police Station Kum Kalan about 15 Km from Sahnewal Police Station. In the meantime the van kept moving one way or the other. The Police Station Kum Kalan did not have any proper lock-up so I was kept handcuffed for full three days and was tied to a window Grill. The handcuff was not removed even while sleeping. After three days the handcuff was removed und I was locked in a room
  3. That after five days, at Kum Kalan I was taken to Police Station Sarabha Nagar, Ludhiana, at night time. The lock-up is a room measuring about 15’xl2′. Here I was kept along with some other persons. Here I was kept until 11.10.86.
  4. That during all this period I had no access to reading or writing material including newspapers. I was not permitted to see anybody for the first 15 days of my detention. My parents were not even informed as to where I was kept. I was never permitted to see my advocate during this period. Eventually my father and brother were permitted to contact me, that too when they had promised not to file a writ petition.
  5. That I was produced before the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Ludhiana, Mr. O.P.Goel, on 11.10.86. It was the first time that I was produced before any magistrate since I was taken into custody. Whereas under Section 57 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, one has to be produced before a magistrate within 24 hours of the arrest. I was charged under Sections 212, 216 and 216-A of the Indian Penal Code (Harboring and Sheltering Criminals) and Sections 3 & 4 of the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act 1985. On 11.10.86, I was remanded in the police custody for further investigation upto 14.10.86. On this date I was sent by the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate to judicial custody (jail).
  6. That upto February 2, 1987 I was kept in judicial custody for more than 3% months. Initially I was kept locked up in a cell alongwith two other persons for seven or eight days. We were allowed to get out of the room only for 15 minutes in the morning taking bath etc. Later, we were allowed to move out of the room for about 4 hours daily but that too in 15’x40′ court-yard.
  7. That I applied for my identification parade to be held. But the police officials did not get it done on one pretext or the other. In the meantime, Charge-sheet (Challan) against me was presented in the court and I was released on bail on 2.2.1987.
  8. That the two prosecution witnesses who as per the prosecution story had visited my residence and had met certain criminals there appeared in the court on 28.4.1987. These witnesses admitted in the court that they did not know me or any of the said criminals and that they have never visited my residence. The main witness Jarnail Singh even said that the police officials had got his signatures affixed by telling him that these documents related to the goods found during the search of a person.
  9. That I was judicially acquitted on 28.4.1987 after physical and mental harassment for more than seven months.
  10. That the only reason for implicating me in this false case is my relationship with Sukhminder Singh who is also being implicated in many cases. The first among these was of his being an alleged conspirator in an attempt to murder A.P.Pandey, the then Superintendent of Police, Ludhiana. This case has been decided and the Hon’ble court has held that there was no conspiracy in that incident
  11. That between 2.2.87 (when I was released on bail) and 24.4.87 (when I was acquitted) the police raided my residence thrice. This process is still continuing and the police have conducted four raids at my residence after my acquittal. The police party consists of about 30 to 40 officials who are armed with rifles, stenguns and revolvers etc. Moreover their behavior with me and my parents and other members of the family is generally rude. All these raids have been conducted at night and most of them around 4 a.m. On one of these raids they even took me to be sent back after about two hours.
  12. That being an Advocate, I know that many parents, relatives and trends of the alleged terrorists who have gone underground because of police fear are being harassed by the police and are being implicated in false cases.
  13. That as a result of the police torture I still have pain in my left leg and I am undergoing treatment for the same.
  14. I have no doubt in my mind that Sukhminder Singh and Ranjit Singh would be tortured or physically eliminated if they are sent to India.

Ludhiana:

January 12, 1988.