LUDHIANA: The Punjab Human Rights Organization Tuesday alleged that the police killed Balwinder Singh alias Ghorra in a stage managed encounter on December 4 after taking hin into custody on December 1 during the crackdown on the villages by the security forces in Majitha Police district The police recovered a large quantity of arms and ammunition while he was in custody.

PHRO Chairman DS . Gill in a statement here said that Lt General Balwinder Singh Shabba Gian Singh Ghorra of the K.CF. (Panjwar) was taken into custody without Any resistance by the CRPF panty from the fields of Nizam pura villages near Fateh pur in Jandiala Guru police station when he was trying to escape after leaving a truck there on the road. The tuck was a also taken into possession The matter was investigated by a two member PHRO team comprising its General Secretary Mohinder Singh Grewal and advocate Harpal Singh Ghaniya. They met a number of persons including a teacher Gumam Singh Manmohan Singh Jasbir Singh & Harpreet Singh.

According to PHRO investigation the CRPF Wednesday recovered a large amount of arms and ammunition from a Euctyptus plantation in Jasson angal and Nanak Pura settlements of Bhorsi Rajputtan village on Bhai Ghorr as disclosures One Harpreet Singh of the village was arrested and was taken to Khilchian CRPF post.

One December a at night the police and the CRPF led by SSP (Majitha) HS Randhawa raided the residence of Gurdip Singh a sarpanch and a director of the Central Cooperative Bank at dhota village in Veroval police station and also recovered a bag contain in grams and ammunition and picked up he Sarpanch who was kept in illegal police custody at Veroval and Tam Taran police stations for a week said Gill

After  keeping Bhai Ghora in custody for the days the Majitha police killed him by stage managing an encounter on December 4 in Muchhal village. The police version that Balwinder Singh was Killed in an armed clash with the Police and that the police had recovered a huge amount of arms and ammunition from the person of the deceased is totally false and fabricated added the statement.

Article extracted from this publication >> January 17, 1992