well as extortions and kidnappings for ransom, both at the hands of the police and individuals. But we must express our determination to investigate all cases to find out the truth in each case.
The PHRO has been calling upon the government since its inception in 1985 to establish an independent judicial enquiry to investigate killings in alleged encounters by the police force in Punjab. The organisation believed that such an enquiry was vital to help prevent future killings as anyone found guilty would have been tried and punisled. No judicial enquiry was ever ordered. Rather, a series of un-checked fatal shooting of Sikh youths by the security forces and police-backed “vigilantes” only strengthened the PHRO’s belief that the Government of India’s policy was to liquidate suspected members of armed opposition groups in planned killings.
Police kills Sikhs in faked encounters
The police on May 26, 1991 killed four Sikh activists allegedly in an armed encounter at Chitamala village under Morinda police station in Ropar district. According to the police (FIR No. 49), all the four killed were unidentified Sikh youngmen. Four militant organisations affiliated to the Panthic Committee (Dr. Sohan Singh), on the other hand, claimed that two of the four killed included BTF (Sangha) activists, Harvinder Singh alias Bahadur Singh of Shahpur Gujjarmajra village and Karora Singh of Badwali village who were picked up by Morinda police earlier at 7.30 a.m. from Mankheri gate.
PHRO activist Surjit Singh Gill and Ajaib Singh investigated the matter. They met several villagers of Chitamala including village mayor Mohan Singh. The village mayor disclosed that Kurali police and CRPF laid siege of the village on May 26 at about 4 a.m. All men above 15 years of age were asked to come out and to collect near Mohan Singh’s house under a tree. The security forces made house to house search. They were fired upon from inside the house of one Sardara Singh by three militants hiding there. During the cross firing, one militant was killed, another captured and the third escaped. Head constable Baldev Singh was also killed in the encounter. Four other police officials received severe injuries. The BTF area commanders, Bhai Jasmer Singh Lalli and Mohan Singh Fotewal, in their press statement said the security forces in the wake of heavy police casualities got infuriated and shot dead in cold blood the captured youngman along with the two BTF activists, Harvinder Singh and Korora Singh, who were already in the police custody. They were shown killed in the Chitmala encounter. Therefore, of the four youths, three were killed in a staged encounter in the village.
Sardara Sinah’s wife, Surjit Kaur revealed to the
PHRO team that the police took away her gold ornaments worth Rs 80,000 and cash of Rs 10,C00 The infuriated police also killed a buffalo owned by one Bhajan Singh.
Similarly, in an encounter near Hans Kalan village in Jagraon subdivision of Ludhiana district on May 17, 1991, one militant was shot dead a few hours after he surrendered to the police in presence of several persons in broad day light. A little earlier, five militants along with him fought nearly 300 police and CRPF personnel before being killed in a rare genuine encounter.
Police killed Honey after the surrender
There did occur genuine militant-police encounters but in most cases, the casualities suffered were by both the parties. The Rataul encounter was an eye-opener. In all other cases, the deaths were either in police custody or in staged encounters. In the Hans Kalan encounter, at least half-a-dozen security men died and more than a dozen injured, according to an eye witness. The KLF (Budhsinghwala) also made an identical claim as reported in a section of the Press. But the Jagraon DSP, Harnek Singh, in his police report (FIR No. 17) mentioned that only a constable Sheikh Usman was killed and none injured.
The casualities from the police side remained a mystery. The five killed in the encounter on side of the militants were identified as Darshprit Singh Roomi, Sukhwinder Singh Kalajhande, Hardip Singh Rimpy, Rupinder Singh Khalsa and Mohan Singh Sheikhupura of the KLF and the KCF. The sixth, who surrendered before the police and was subsequently killed, was identified as KCF (Panjwar) activist, Kush Karanjot Singh alias Honey.
The matter was investigated by PHRO activists Gurbhaj an Singh Gill, Bhupinder Singh Somal and Harchand Singh Gill, who visited the spot and met eye-witnesses.
According to the PHRO team, several persons including Amar Singh Chachrali, who were working in their agricultural fields, saw the sixth militant Khush Karanjot Singh surrendered to the police following the killings of his companions in the fierce encounter which lasted over four hours. The eye-witnesses to the surrender were also rounded up for a while. The boy was mercilessly beaten up with rifle butts in their presence.
The eye-witness account revealed that the boy was taken away in a jeep. After about two hours at 6 p m., the police jeep came back with the boy. He was asked to run. As soon as the boy came down, he was fired upon. He fell down. Mukhtiar Chand (S. P. Operations), who led the security forces, gave a story to the press that six militants had been killed in the encounter.
The Sikh youths tortured to death
Another case the PHRO investigated was that of Bhai Balwinder Singh alias Baghel Singh Abbuwal, Bhai Gurmit Singh and Bhai Mohinder Singh, all of Abbuwal village, who the police alleged, were killed in armed clashes with the security forces.
According to the Sangrur SSP, Sukhdial Singh Bhullar, Lt General Baghel Singh of the KCF (Zaffarwal) was killed in an encounter with the security forces in the fields of Maherna Khurd village near Ahmedgarh on June 6, 1991. The Ahmedgarh police report (FIR No. 68) mentioned the arrest of Gurmeet Singh and Mohinder Singh from the spot Next day, the SSP claimed that Gurmeet Singh and Mohinder Singh had been killed in cross firing with militants, who attacked the police party which was taking them towards Kanganwal village for the recovery of arms.
How was it that none else than detainees was hurt in the cross firing ? Militants could not have ambushed the police party to kill their own men. The police story was a total concoction. PHRO’s secretary Mukeshinder Singh Dhillon went into details of the matter and concluded that the two youths were tortured and killed in custody at the Ahmedgarh police station.
The PHRO investigation report quoted an eye-witness, who did not want to be identified, as saying that he himself saw the dead bodies of Gurmit Singh and Mohinder Singh piled one over the other and tied up with ropes inside a police jeep early in the morning of June 7 near Kanganwal bridge. A few minutes later, he said, the police stagemanaged a drama by firing in the air. One Ram Singh Billing filed quite a similar story in the daily Aj Di Awaaz on June 18, 1991 suggesting that these two youngmen were murdered in the police custody.
Regarding the death of Bhai Baghel Singh, the PHRO found that he took cyanide when cordoned off by the police, CRPF and BSF men on June 6 near village Maherna where from Gurmeet Singh and Mohinder Singh were captured. All the three were unarmed. The police later recovered a pistol from the dicky of their scooter, according to one Bikkar Singh.
High Court does not act on telegrams
The PHRO has been sending telegrams to the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court and to the
Punjab Home Secretary seeking their intervention for the production in the court of abducted youths and fearing their liquidation at the hands of the security forces, but to no avail.
A telegram was sent in the case of Lt General Karaj Singh Peer Mohammad and Balkar Singh Bukan of the KLF, who were
picked up by the Phillaur police. They were later killed by the
police in a stage-managed encounter on April 25, 1991 near
Mao Sahib village in Jalandhar district. A similar appeal was
also reported in a section of the Press by Chief Generel Gurjant Singh Budhsinghwala of the KLF.
PHRO administration secretary Gurbhajan Singh Gill telegraphically informed the High Court and the state home office regarding the abduction of Lt General Sukhdev Singh Mangian and Bhai Gurmit Singh Tejawheela of the Dasmesh Regiment attached with Baba Manochahal’s Panthic Committee, who were picked up from a house, 142/14, PAU Campus, Ludhiana, on May 9 at 4.30 p.m. by the Ludhiana police.
According to the PHRO information, Sukhdev Singh’s brother Tarlochan Singh, who was a welder, and Balraj Singh Bal alias Bittu were also picked up earlier in the day from Tarlochan Singh’s residence at Dholewal in the city. All the four were taken to CIA staff. They were tortured there. Other prisoners, who were later either released or sent to jail and were out on bail, informed the PHRO that they had seen the
four Sikh youths inside the CIA staff before they were taken out at night for their liquidation.
Police kill Sikhs in faked ambushes
Next day the police came out with a story (FIR No. 104 registered at Focal Point Police Station on May 10, 1991 at 5.45 a.m.) that the Focal Point police party led by its SHO Narinderpal Singh was ambushed by militants near Ghiaspura village in the early hours of May 7. That the police party also started firing in self-defense. And during the crossfiring, the police alleged that Sukhdev Singh and Gurmeet Singh, who were sitting in a police minibus, were killed. Two of the militants who ambused the police party were also killed in the battle. They were declared as unidentified Sikhs.
The unidentified were Tarlochan Singh and Balraj Singh. It was again interesting that no one from the police side was injured. What a funny story, the police had planted to suppress the crime. The PHRO did not subscribe to the abmush theory. All the four youths were murdered in cold blood at the spot where the police stagemanaged the ambush.
Likewise the security force killed at least seven Sikh activists by stagemanaging fake ambushes during June, 1991 in Punjab, according to PHRO records.
Mangat Singh was killed allegedly in crossfire when militants ambushed a police party near Adliwal village in Majitha police district of Amritsar early in the morning of June 1 when he was being escorted by a police party for the recovery of arms. Nachhattar Singh was similarly killed in Ferozepur on the same day. Others killed in the alleged ambushes were Harjinder Singh, Baldev Singh, Prem Singh, Gurmail Singh and Rajinder Singh Golu.
PHRO record of June 1991 disclosed 167 killings at the hands of the law enforcing agencies in the state of Punjab. Out of them, 126 had been killed in alleged encounters with the police force, 20 were eliminated allegedly in intergroup clashes and 19 were killed by police-backed vigilantes.
Those killed in the alleged encounters included Area Commander Manjinder Singh (KCF), Lt General Surjit Singh (KCF), Babbar Amir Singh Kamal. Gurmej Singh Geja (KCF), Nirmal Singh Chhotu (KCF), Brigadier Jashjit Singh Kala (KLA), Rattan Singh (KLA) and Angrez Singh.
Police abducted Sikh women and children
Besides this, Major General Bachittar Singh Sarhaddi, Brigadier Kikkar Singh Kotla Muglan and Bhai Kulwinder Singh Kindo, all of the Khalistan Liberation Army (KLA) were murdered by the Ludhiana police on June 22, 1991 near Dhandari Kalan village, the outskirts of the city. They were earlier picked up by the police from their rented house, 372-B, Bhai Randhir Singh Nagar, Ludhiana on June 21 at 9 p.m. along with their wives and an eight-month-old son of Bhai Sarhaddi. This fact was brought to the notice of the Punjab Governor by PHRO administration secretary Gurbhajan Singh Gill, who had sought the release or production of the detainees in the court.
After receiving information and verifying its records, the PHRO concluded that Lt General Ravinderbir Singh alias Bholla of Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) was shot dead by the security forces on May 5, 1991 in Kaleke village under Mehta police station when he was scaling a wall to hide himself from the force. The security men from the other side gunned down him without warning. He was unarmed at that point of time. It was the same militant for whose release from the jail outside Punjab the KLF Chief General Gurjant Singh Budhsinghwala had picked up a Congress (I) leader, Satpal Mittal’s grandson from Ludhiana few months ago. And his release was scored in exchange with the boy. He had been appointed Lt General in place of Bhai Jugraj Singh.
Four Sikh youngmen were killed in cold blood by the police near Lohara village in Ferozepur district on May 4, 1991. One of them was identified as Rajbir Singh Fauji. The other three remained unknown to the public. According to information received by the PHRO, all the four youths were brought at a vacant house near the village early in the morning with their arms tied with turbans and shot dead. Many villagers saw the incident. They reported to the PHRO that such incidents normally occurred every month near their village.
Sukhpal Singh Pali reported a case in which two Sikh youths were killed in a faked encounter by the Lehragaga police in Sangrur district on May 10, 1991 near Ratta Khera and Dhalera villages. The boys were identified as Balbir Singh of Lahal Khurd and Gurmail Singh of Lahal Kalan. According to Gian Chand and Puran Singh, both the boys were picked up a day earlier by the police from a house owned by Joginder Singh in Gobindgarh Jajian village. They were not wanted by the police in any case.
Police, the extra-judicial executioner
The police claim that the encounters were genuine is prima facie incredible. In each case a sterotyped modus operandi is given out. It is claimed that a certain number of militants were challenged by the security forces to stop. Instead of halting, these militants opened fire. The security forces returned the fire in self-defence. As a result certain number of militants were killed while one or two of them escaped. It is significant to note that none from the security forces ever suffered a scratch and only the militants were killed although they were purported to be the first to open the fire.
The police tendency to do away witb “due process of law and unfettered powers given to them, have made the police an executioner. That is precisely why the PHRO has been describing for long the present Punjab state as a Police State (Police Raj). Now even the persons at the helm of the affairs have started feeling the same way.
“It is police raj in Punjab. The police is perpetuating violence in the State”, was the unanimous sentiment echoed at a meeting of administrative secretaries of the state held under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary, Tejendra Khanna, at Chandigarh.
The administrative secretaries, including financial
commissioners, were surprised when the Chief Secretary sought their views on the Punjab problem at the weekly meeting held on July 29, 1991. Many of them held that no one had ever considered it “necessary” to elicit their views on the problems facing the state. Never before had such an issue figured at such a meeting.
The possible provocation for the chief secretary to seek views of the administrative secretaries was probably his last visit to Jalandhar where people complained against police excesses, including fake encounters. He wanted the views of the secretaries with reference to the complaints against police excesses.
Punjab is a police state” say state officials
After shedding their initial reluctance, most of the secretaries came out with their experiences. One of the secretaries wanted to know what useful purpose the disscussion would serve as everyone was subjugated by the police. He said police dominance was so much that he had his apprehensions whether the minutes of the meeting would be recorded at all. The Chief Secretary retorted that since he had taken the initiative to know their views he would record the minutes also.
Some suggested that the Director-General of Police should have been called to attend the meeting while another secretary suggested that they should be given an opportunity to express their viewpoint on the subject before the new Governor. The Chief Secretary reportedly agreed to arrange a meeting with the new Governor as and when he joined so that the officers could present their viewpoint about the Punjab problem.
Another secretary said the civil servants holding enquiries into complaints of police excesses were afraid of submitting their reports apprehending danger to their lives. Other secretaries also narrated their experiences of serving in the field as how powerful the police was becoming in the state. Normal law, they felt, was being circumvented. No inquests were held into police encounters.
One of the secretaries referred to the Pilibhit killings and said even the BJP chief condemned the killings on the plea that the police had no right to kill even a militant while he was in police custody. The Punjab government should have taken a stand and registered a formal protest with the Uttar Pradesh government.
“The Executive is subjugated by the Police”
One secretary remarked that the subjugation of civil servants by the police department was so complete that even one of the former home secretaries of the state used to admit that he was only a “step-in-wheel”. Another officer remarked that later the Home Secretary became a “punctured” wheel. There was a reference made to the manner in which a former Governor was coerced into submission by the police.
Some secretaries suggested that there should be some control on the “award” money. It was mentioned by one of the secretaries that there was a noting on the file that “militants” were killed first and the “award” on their heads was announced subsequently. There was a feeling among the secretaries that limitless power could not be given to the police indefinitely. They also wanted that their feelings should be conveyed to the quarters concerned.
This piece of information was reported on August 3, 1991 by a journalist Parbhjot Singh in The Tribune, a well-read daily in English in Punjab and its neighbouring states.
Who can say there is rule of law in the state except General O.P. Malhotra, who himself had perpetuated state violence since he took the reins of power as Governor in this sensitive border state of Punjab. During his regime lasting eight months, the average per day killing of Sikhs in faked encounters at the hands of the security forces has been over half-a-dozen, according to PHRO records.
Similar is the situation in Kashmir where state officials are not only afraid of the security forces but they are also being humiliated and harassed at the hands of the central security forces. A report from Srinagar revealed that the state’s Chief Secretary Vijay Kapoor and the Additional Chief Secretary Sheikh Ghulam Rasool filed separate complaints with the Union Home Minister following illtreatment by the Border Security Force personnel in the first week of June.
The Kashmir state officials humiliated
Vijay Kapoor was reportedly on his way to the state secretariat on June 7, 1991 when BSF men intercepted his official motorcade. The BSF men reportedly abused the staff of the Chief Secretary and even detained the latter, for on the spot checking, despite the fact that he was travelling in a flag car with an Indo-Tebtian Border Police escort jeep.
A few days earlier, Sheikh Ghulam Rasool, who was the senior most bureaucrat from the state cadre, also suffered a similar humiliation at the hands of BSF personnel.
State repression and killings are so high in the valley that as many as 250 Muslim famlies had moved into the Pakistan “Occupied” Kashmir evidently to escape from death at the hands of the Indian security forces.
That was why the shadow foreign secretary of Britain’s Labour Party, Gerald Kaufman, who was on his two-day “fact finding” mission to Kashmir, said to newsmen on August 11, 1991 that “the suffering of the people of Kashmir has gone too long. The people of Kashmir should get back the right to live with peace and honour in their land”.
