CHANDIGARH: The Indian police admitted that the Ropar lawyer Kulwant Singh, his wife and minor son, missing since January 25, are Kulwant Singh, his wife and minor son, missing since January 25, are dead. This admission came from Ropar district Police chief Sanjiv Gupta hours after more than 5000 lawyers of Punjab and Haryana High Court struck work to protest against what until then was known as the disappearance of the advocate and his family.
The police chief claimed that the lawyer and two members of his family had been kidnapped by two militants and that the three of them had been pushed into the Bhakra Mainline canal along with their car. Curiously, according to the police version, the kidnappers themselves, Surjit Singh and Ruldu Singh, had committed suicide a few hours before the police issued the press release announcing the advocate family’s death.
‘There are gaping holes in the police story which leaves no one in Punjab in doubt that it is a coldblooded murder not only of the advocate but also his wife’s and his 18monthold son’s. The motive behind the so-called abduction shown by the police is that the advocate had been opposing the militants’ plan to surrender before the police.
Significantly, the police kept silent about the incident for 15 days even while there were repeated media reports about Kulwant Singh’s disappearance along with his wife Amarjit Kaur and 18monthold son Karanbir. The advocates of Ropar district courts had been on strike since January 27, The police made no effort to make even a show of enquiring into the alleged disappearance, The story of abduction was concocted only after lawyers at Chandigarh and all over Punjab and Haryana went on strike.
The police alleged that Kulwant Singh belonged to the Babbar Khalsa International and he was a party to a plan to sabotage the Ropar Thermal plant it was also alleged that he had been giving shelter to the widow of another B.K.1 leader Jagrup Singh Kalakh.
These charges, according to lawyers, make the police version totally shaky. They feel the police itself telephoned the advocate on January 25 to reach the Ropar police station to take away a Sikh woman and his minor son who had been in the custody of the police and the advocate had been following up the case with the police to seek their release. In fact, he had been asked by the panchayat of Budha Bhaura village to help them to get an innocent woman of that village Manjit Kaur and her minor son released by the police. It was in connection with this case that the advocate had gone to the police station. Evidently, the police arrested him along with his wife and minor son only to bump them off into the nearby Bhakra Mainline canal together with their Maruti car. Earlier it had been reported that Thousands of lawyers of Punjab and Haryana went on a strike on February 8 to protest against the disappearance of the Ropar advocate, Kulwant Singh, his minor Son, Kambir and his wife, Amarjit Kaur.
According to investigations carried out by Punjab Human Rights Organization, the advocate has been missing along with his son and wife since January 25. He went to the Ropar city policy station on that evening to find the whereabouts of Manjit Kaur, a woman of Budha Bhaura village, and her minorson, Kulwant Singh was accompanied by his wife and son. P.H.R.O, chairman Justice Ajit Singh Bains expressed the fear that Kulwant Singh and members Of his family had been killed. His only “guilt” was that he tried to have an innocent woman and her son released from the illegal custody of the police. Earlier, the Kapurthala police had abducted local advocate Jagwinder Singh. Despite protests by sections of people the government has been keeping silent on the matier, Yet another instance of abduction and possible murder of an advocate came from Bathinda some time ago. That advocate also remains untraced so far, According to P.H.R.O. report, Manjit Kaur was picked up by the police on January 25 along with her minor son. The village panchayat considered Manjit Kaur innocent and requested advocate Kulwant Singh to seek release of the woman and her son. Kulwant Singh consequently approached Ropar D.S.P.Jaspal Singh on telephone asking for the whereabouts of the woman and her son. The D.S.P. reportedly assured him that the woman and her son would be released by the evening. KulwantSingh visited the D.S.P.’s residence but the latter was not present there,
The advocate apprised his two colleagues K.P.S.Rana and Santokh Singh of the developments. At about 9:30 p.m., the advocate telephoned S.H.O.Ropar and asked about the woman and her son. He also informed him that the D.S.P. too had assured him that the woman would be released by the evening.
The S.H.O, asked the advocate to come to the police station to take away the woman and her son. The advocate along with his wife and minor son went to rescue Manjit Kaur, Neither the woman and her son returned nor did the three rescuers.
Meanwhile, Kulwant Singh’s father sent written representations to chief minister of Punjab and other senior officers seeking their intervention to have his son, daughter-in-law and grandson released but to no avail.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association initially called for a two-day strike which is likely to be extended.
Article extracted from this publication >> February 12, 1993
