A report by : ‘Committee For Information And Initiative On Punjab’, A group of prominent non-Sikh civil right activists has published a report on the details of various cases of extrajudicial murders in staged encounters by the police, of illegal detention and magistratal enquiries into deaths by fake encounters following is a case of an illegal detention and disappearance.

CASE 2

19 year old Ranjit Singh was studying commerce at the Khalsa College of Amritsar and lived with his mother and sister in Seva Nagar, Amritsar. His father had died some years before. His elder brother, Amarjit Singh worked for a transport firm in Dhanbad in the state of Bihar in Eastern India.

 

“We have to question your son on some minor problems. Do not worry, he will come back.”

 

On the morning of 10 February 1988 the Police Inspector, Mr. Gurdev Singh and the Assistant Subinspector (ASI). Mohinder Singh from Sadar police station in Amritsar, picked him up at his house. They told his anxious mother , Bachan Kaur: “We have to question your son on some minor problems. Do not worry, he will come back”.

 

That same evening ASI Mohinder Singh came back to the house and demanded from Mrs Bachan Kaur a sum of RS 20,000.00 for the release of her son. She had no money to pay the ransom and so sent a telegram to her elder son Charanjit Singh to immediately come home and raise the money. In the meanwhile the ASI Mohinder Singh kept up his visits to Mrs. Bachan Kaur’s house to repeat his demand.

 

“The police officials only repeated their demand of Rs 20,000.00. Pleading that he was unable to raise such a large sum at such short notice, Charanjit Singh attempted in vain to persuade the officers to release his brother.”’

 

Charanjit Singh arrived in Amritsar on 19 February and went to Sadar police station to request the Police Inspector Gurdev Singh, and the ASI Mohinder Singh to either release his brother or to produce him in a court with whatever charge they had against him. The police officials only repeated their demand of Rs.20,000.00. Pleading that he was unable to raise such a large sum at such short notice, Charanjit Singh attempted in vain to persuade the officers to release his brother.

On 21 February Ranjit Singh was moved from the Sadar police station. The same day Mohinder Singh told Ranjit’s brother, that he be killed if the family did not come up with the money. Charanjit Singh requested ten days respite to raise the money.

On 9 March Charanjit Singh filed a habeas corpus writ, petition no 452/88, in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. It was heard on the some day in the court of Justice Ujagar Singh. The judge appointed an officer of the court, Jai Singh Patial, to carry out the search for the detainee and release him from illegal custody as prayed for by the petitioner.

Jai Singh Paial, accompanied by Charanjit Singh, left Chandigarh for Amritsar. On the morning of 10th March, Charanjit Singh found out by bribing a clerk in Sadar police station, Tiranth Singh, that his brother was at the police post of Sultanwind in Amritsar. On that same afternoon they finally found Ranjit Singh in one of the cells in Sultanwind.

The search report of Jai Singh Patial, submitted to the High Court,reads:

 

“The conflicting statements made by the wireless operation and the Subinspector regarding the date and time when Ranjit Singh was brought to Sultan wind police post obviously incriminate those responsible for this sordid incident, Infact, inspite the outcome of the raid, the police denied that Ranjit Singh had ever been in their illegal custody.”

 

I asked the wireless operator, who did not disclose his mane, to give me the roznama (a daily diary maintained at every police post), to me I (would) operator Shri Ajit Singh, constable no 1057, did not allow me to (leave) the police post and asked me to stay there until the arrival of Subinspector Gurmeet Chand (Singh) (the officer in charge of the post). I stayed there.)

“The operator told me that the alleged detenu had been brought from the Vijay Nagarpolice post yesterday(March 9,88) and it was their bad luck that he police post had been raided today. Gurmeet Singh came there. After half an hour he informed me that the alleged detenu had been arrested by Mohinder Singh the ASl of Sardar police station, in connection with some robbery case, and that he had been sent to the Sultanwind Police post at about 4:30 PM on 10 March 1988, for interrogation. He further told me that no entry recording the arrival of the detenu had so far been made in the rozama”.

 

“Despite massive evidence against the security forces in this instance, no action has so far been taken against those officials who abducted Ranjit Singh, kept him in detention for over a month without any legal basis, demanded ransom from his mother for his release, and even threatened to kill him extra-judicially.

 

The conflicting statements made by the wireless operation and the Subinspector regarding the date and time when Ranjit Singh was brought to Sultan wind police post obviously incriminate those responsible for this sordid incident. Infact inspite the outcome of the raid, the police denied that Ranjit Singh had ever been in their illegal custody.

Despite massive evidence against the security forces in this instance, no action has so far been taken’ against those officials who abducted Ranjit Singh, kept him in detention for over a month without any legal’ basis, demanded ransom from his mother for his release, and even threatened to kill him extra-judicially.

 

THE VICTIMS:

* Sikhs Men & Women

THE OPPRESSORS

* Punjab Police

* Central Police

Criminal Investigation Agency

METHODS OF TORTURE

*Ripping Legs Apart

* Hanging Upside Down

* Rolling Heavy Pins on Legs till muscles rapture

* Chili powder stuffed into anus & petrol poured Over it.

OTHER SIGNIFICANT ACTS

* Illegal detentions by police.

* Extortion of money to release innocent people

* Extra judicial killings of those tortured beyond the limits.

* Threatening remaining family members with dire consequences.

LEGAL RECOURSE

* None under the new laws there is no legal recourse, accused are presumed guilty till they convince the police that they are innocent. Police does not maintain any record of these arrests.

This is India which is called a democracy. When will the world wake up and stop the genocide of the minorities.

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Article extracted from this publication >>  May 26, 1989