Police atrocities in the border district of Gurdaspur have increased so much that a number of young men have left their homes in fear of the police.
Villagers and civil authorities of Batala all say that police corruption has spread widely. The police is harassing innocent people and the situation has reached such a level that people have started saving money so that they can bribe the police when needed.
Anyone who tries to raise his voice against the atrocities of the police is labeled as a “terrorist.” The few who raised their voice despite this had to face the wrath of the police.
It is common to hear complaints of police taking women and young girls and locking them up in police stations. There are widespread allegations by the people that the young girls and women are ill-treated and humiliated in the police stations. All this is done by the male police.
One government official summed up the situation by saying, “This is a complete police rule, and we all feel helpless.” (Times of India February 13, 1989).
V.K. Dedh — Times of India:
The Government is only concerned with which police officer is more effective in arresting and killing terrorists. They ignore the complaints of harassment of the innocent public. Not only this, if a police officer shows good results, he is also given a free hand and a Nelsons eye is turned to his corruption. These days, police is in full control. To take an example, a divisional Commissioner complained to the authorities that police did not even consult him (as is required). It seems some police officers had taken the liberty given to them to mean that they could commit even murder and get away with it.
A Deputy Commissioner of Gurdaspur sent a note to the government describing the sorry state of affairs. He was transferred out but the SSP (Gobind Ram) was not even touched. The people of border areas of Amritsar and Gurdaspur Districts, which are most affected by terrorism, are famous for their fighting skills since they’ve always fought the invaders who attacked the country. But this does not mean that they should be crushed by force. (Times of India-February 1 7, 1989).
Shami Sarin Chauthi Duniya
The Government in Delhi is shouting itself hoarse about giving more autonomy to the Panchayat (village governments) but this does not apply to Punjab. The state of village governments in the border districts is pitiable. They are harassed more by the police than by the terrorists. Today, the status of a village headman is less than a constable, and being humiliated by the police for no rhyme or reason has become a part of their life.
The police arrests whoever it want without taking the village government into confidence. Anyone who is arrested has to be produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, according to the Indian constitution. But in this case, no one knows the condition of the person who has been arrested for weeks and months. It is a matter of concern that most of the time the detainee is either innocent or has provided food to the terrorists at gunpoint. Whenever the village members of the governing council go to the police station to intercede on behalf of the detainees, they are called “friends” or terrorists” are often humiliated and turned away. They are also beaten up so that they don’t dare intercede on behalf of an innocent person ever again.
Ever since Gobind Ram took over as the police chief of Batala the instances of police atrocities increased. 40 village headman and members of the governing council resigned to protest the police behavior. They said that Govind Ram had instructed the police station to beat up any village official who came to intercede on behalf of any detainee.
R K Misra — Editor Patriot
For those who do not live in the Punjab it is impossible to imagine or understand the conditions the people of Punjab are living under. For me, a person who spent 48 hours there, it was a time of terror, fear suspicion, and a feeling of being an unwanted outsider. Every second person we met had a story to tell us, a story of atrocities and of extorting money.
On the way from Amritsar to Chandigarh a farmer told us his story. He said that some terrorists, while fleeing from the police, had dropped a bicycle in the fields. The police recovered the bicycle and caught the owner of the farm, who they accused of being connected with the terrorist activities in the area. He was taken to the police station and tortured. His father, uncle and hundreds of villagers got together and pleaded with the police to release him. They said they knew the family and that he was a Congress party supporter. The police officers didn’t listen to any of this. The fearful uncle ran out of the Police station and told the nephew, “do what you what with my land, but if you can get away, go abroad.”
There are numerous stores like this. Many a story has been written of the torture and tyranny. The police tyranny has crossed all bounds in Punjab and any civilized society should be ashamed of this bestiality. This is not a exaggeration, neither a figment of someone’s imagination nor is it propaganda. It is clear that these complaints have come from non-political people or people who are anti-fundamentalists and do not hesitate to speak against the Khalistan movement. This is also proved by the fact that the blame is not being heaped only on all police officers, but on some individuals who seem to be all Powerful, and who have serious complaints against them. It is common knowledge that some of these police officers have formed killer squads, who first arrest some young men and torture them till they join these squads. When these killer squads ask for arms, they are told that they can get them the same way the terrorists do; by snatching them from those who have the weapons or by smuggling them from across the border. They are also encouraged to extort money like other terrorists. One reliable source told me that these groups are responsible for horrifying atrocities on innocent people. Ostensibly these gangs have been formed to kill the “terrorists.”
