AMRITSAR, Punjab – Two women, Dhan Kaur and her daughter Surjit Kaur have been running from pillar to post for over four years, demanding action against certain policemen who allegedly tortured them and detained them. Undeterred by the prolonged litigation and threats from policemen to withdraw the case, the two hapless women have now filed a petition under public interest litigation in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

Hailing from a border village Rattoke in Tarn Taran subdivision, the peasant women have sold off their ornaments and a chunk of land to fight the case and are determined to “teach a lesson to the guilty policemen”.

With tears in her eyes, Dhan Kaur told this reporter that she and her daughter were picked up by the police from Sarhali bus stand where they had gone to get medicine on September 23, 1984. The police which suspected them to be thieves, allegedly tortured them while in custody till October 12 when the Punjab and Haryana High Court ordered their release.

The Warrant Officer, who was deputed by the High Court to go into the case had noted in his report that the two were illegally detained in the police station and were tortured. After a medical examination the victims filed a complaint on October 10, 1984 in a court at Tarn Taran. The case had since been shuttling between the special courts at Amritsar and Jalandhar with every time the courts summoning the 11 policemen named in the complaint. But none of them has appeared in the court even once. After 70 fruitless summons the accused were ordered to appear through bailable warrants. Even non-bailable warrants and warrants of attachment of their salaries had no effect.

Then the warrants were sent through Sessions Judge, Amritsar, to the SSP to procure the presence of the accused. But these were returned on the excuse that the accused had been transferred and their destinations could not be disclosed for security reasons. Letters were also sent to the DIG and DGP by the court, but to no avail.

In her petition, a copy of which has also been forwarded to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Dhan Kaur has demanded directions to the State persons to appear in a competent Government to compel the accused and that the personal appearance of court of law within a stipulated period r al the petitioner should be exempted in view of her inability to bear the expenses on litigation any longer. The petitioner has also urged that she should be paid Rs 1 lakh as compensation for mental torture.

 

– The Tribune May 14, 1989