Punjab Human Rights Organization sought the intervention of the Amnesty International and UN Human Rights Commission in a case of disappearance of Sikh Students Federation (Daljit Singh) General Secretary Sukhwinder Singh Sukhialias Amritpal Khalsa who is most probably in the hands of the Ludhiana police.
Sukhwinder Singh (son of S.Sohan Singh) 22 resident of 356 Basant Vihar Hoshiarpur was a student of MA at Punjabi University Patiala He was picked up by the police from the Model Town locality of Ludhiana on February 171992 at 3:30 p.m in full view of a large number of persons. He was then taken to CIA staff Ludhiana
After keeping him in illegal detention for six days the police showed him arrested on Feb.23 (11:30 p.m.) in an encounter with the CIA police near Lohara village in Sadar police area.
The police party headed by Inspector Manmghan Singh claimed to have recovered a truck (No HP 23-0935) along with some arms and ammunition (FIR NO 72 dated Feb.24, 1992 Sadar Police Station Ludhiana). But many persons (who do not want to be identified) had seen the truck in police custody even prior to the SSF leaders abduction by the police. Thus the recovery of the truck and arms and ammunition was nothing but a concoction.
Next day that is on February 24 (6:45 a.m.) Sukhwinder Singh was shown to have escaped the police custody during an encounter between the police party and militants when he was being taken out for recovery of more weapons According to the police version (FIR No. 73 Sadar Police Station Ludhiana) the CIA police party led by Manmohan Singh was attacked by a group of four militants to help escape Sukhwinder Singh and during the encounter that ensued at the bank of the Satliij river near Bokar village in Sadar police station the militants succeeded in the escape of Sukhwinder Singh from the police party.
The PHRO does not believe the police story of escape. Moreover the SSF of which he was the general secretary and its associate organizations have categorically refuted the police version and said that the Sikh activist was in the police custody. PHRO is thus of the opinion that the police has either liquidated him or it is keeping him as hostage.
A day earlier a peasant leader Mohinder Singh Jawanda was arrested on February 16 from his residence 556 Model Town Ludhiana for harboring Sukhwinder Singh Sukhi and others (FIR No 30 dated 2/16/92 u/s 212/216 IPC Police Station Civil Lines Ludhiana) Jawanda was sent to Ludhiana jail the next day. Alongwith Jawanda a young clean-shaven Sikh Jagga Singh Jagga alias Vijay Kumar (23) was also arrested by the police from Jawandas residence. PHRO sent telegrams on Feb.18 to the Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court and the Home Secretary drawing their attention to the failure of the police to produce Jagga in court. He has not so far been produced anywhere. The police give no clue about his whereabouts.
In the meanwhile Jawanda granted bail by Judicial Magistrate Sudarshan Modi on Feb. 20. But the police surrounded his house with a clear intention of rear resting him. Consequently Jawanda who is now 74 is not coming out of jail as he fears harassment from one of the founders of the popular Bharti Kisan Union in Punjab and is a known opponent of police repression.
D.S.Gill
Chairman
Article extracted from this publication >> April 24, 1992
