GHANDIGARH: Bhai Kanwar Singh, President, Akal Federation, has a ansar the Punjab Police of “torturing” him after he described as “a farce, a surrender drama” enacted at ‘Gazetted Officers” mess on March29 last year before the then Director General of Punjab Police, Mr.K.P.S. Gill.
4h a written statement, he has narrated the sequence of events in a chronological order to ridicule the police version of his “arrest” and the “subsequent surrender drama.”
Bhai Kanwar Singh’s case was registered against him at Anand pur Sahib immediately after he had refused to corroborate the police version of his “surrender.”
In his five pages written statement, ‘Bhai Kanwar Singh maintained that he was arrested on May 17 from the office of Aman Roadways Company in Ahmedabad by a police party Jed by the Deputy Superintendent of Police (Detective), Mr. Gurmit Singh. The Gujarat police was not informed about his arrest.
He claims that first the Tarn Taran police chief, Mr. Ajit Singh Sandhu, Wanted him to participate in a “surrender™ ceremony which he wanted 1 organize on Independence Day. “I was having glaring signs of torture and weakness and for some other reasons, this “drama of surrender” was postponed, innocent Sikhs locked with me for enacting the drama were tortured. They were cither killed in ‘fake encounters” or were shown involved in some false cases or were released after obtaining money from them,” he said in his written statement before the court.
Bhai Kanwar Singh maintained that after Mr. Sandhu was transferred from Tam Taran to Ropar, he along with his wife and minor son were also brought to Ropar and kept in illegal police custody at CIA staff, Ropar. “Malkiat Singh Bapu Panjola, Bhai Manjit Singh Kar Sewa wale of Salempur village, near Morinda, Nihang Gurdial Singh of Meerka village in Patti tehsil, and certain others were also in police custody.
“Mr, Ajit Sigh Sandhu now planned to enact drama of my surrender along with strangers in December, 1993. Mr. Beant Singh, the then Chief Minister, and his son-in-law, Col Raminder Singh, Director of Sports, had come to Ropar for inaugurating a women’s sports festival. The SSP managed another drama of false attack on the Director of Sports and four Sikhs Bhai Manjit Singh, Gurdial Singh Nihang and two others who: were already in police custody were taken out, shaved and killed in “fake police encounter’ in the arca of Bindrakh village. My surrender was again postponed for the time being,” writes Bhai Kanwar Singh.
He also says that on Republic Day in 1994, the police again planned to enact the surrender drama, but again it was put off.
Bhai Kanwar Singh maintained that police made an attempt to get his five year old son admitted to Baru Saheb Academy but the authorities refused to do so in the absence of the parents.
During Hola Mohalla, the police again planned to organize the “surrender drama” before Mr. Gill. Bhai.
Kanwar Singh maintains that police officials were pulled up by the DSP for their failure to bring him (Bhai Kanwar Singh) before him for the Surrender.
He alleges that he was tortured and asked to learn the statement of surrender by heart and repeat it before the DGP next day. “Kabul Singh Faujit and Hardev Singh Bhullar Baja (both Cats and some other innocent Sikhs were taken to Sri Anandpur Sahib with me where a police official was to gel typed a three page statement. | was forced to sign several copies of the statement The DIG interrogated me al Anandpur Sahib and I was sent back to Ropar with the directive that I would be required again at Chandigarh on some other day as the DGP could not come due to having taken heavy drinks.
Article extracted from this publication >> February 7, 1996
