LUDHIANA: Revered Sikh religious preacher, Bhai Gurdev Singh Kaonke, who served for some time as Jathedar of Akal Takhat, is believed by his wife to have been killed by Indian security forces in their custody. The police sources at Ludhiana told the media that Bhai Gurdev Singh was being taken for recovery of arms” when near Ranian in Jagraon police district he escaped from custody. This sort of claim by the police is commonly believed to be a sure indication the detainee had actually been eliminated by the Indian security forces. Bhai Gurdev Singh’s wife, Bibi Gurmail Kaur said that her husband had been taken away illegally by the Jagraon police on December 20 from their village Katonke. The police picked up Bhai Gurdev Singh when he was taking his dead grandson for cremation. Despite villagers request that he should be allowed to perform rites, the Sikh preacher was whisked away. Bat the police on its own released him after a few hours. He was again picked up on December 25 by a policy party headed by Inspector Gunmit Singh, according to Bibi Gunmail Kaur’s information, the then police chief of Jagraon district, Swaran Singh, himself tortured her husband for many days. His “escape” was declared only after it became known that Bhai Gurdev Singh had either died of torture or was on the verge of death. According to media reports, the people of the village regarded him as protector of the poor.
He preached daily about the Sikh religion and asked the Sikhs to become “amnidhanis.” An 80yrold man of the village said that “amnit” preaching by Bhai Gurdev Singh proved to be his undoing. The villagers strongly refuted the police charge that Bhai Gurdev Singh had anything to do with robbenes. Bhai Gurdey Singh was a prosperous farmer and he actually spent money from his own savings to maintain the village gurdwara.
Only a fortnight ago, Bhai Gurdev Singh had organized whitewashing of the village gurdwara. When the news of Bhai Gurdev Singh’s death reached the village, the entire population started mourning. No household prepared food. Akali leaders, Baba Joginder Singh and Simranyit Man reached the village to organize protest against the killing, Mann said that he had conveyed his anguish to the U.S. ambassador in Delhi and had requested him to apprise his presidents of the human rights situation in Punjab.
Article extracted from this publication >> January 8, 1993
