The deaths of 16 year old Gurubaksh Singh, who lived in the village of Mothanwala, Ferozepur district, and Balwant Singh who worked at Gurbaksh Singh’s family Farm, in an armed encounter in the agricultural fields of Ladhuwale on the night of 15 December 1987, after 25 days of illegal detention at Jalalbad police station. Also the death of Mrs Balbir Kaur, sister of Balwant Singh from torture during her illegal detention.

On investigation this story has proved to be fictitious.

The chain of events leading to these extra judicial murders and the destruction of an entire family was triggered off by the killing of Mukhtiyar Singh by suspected Sikh militants on 3 November 1987. Mukhtiyar Singh was the head of the village council of Ghanga, which is 5 km from the village of Mothanwali. Police claimed to be in possession of a shirt which was left behind at the scene of the crime by one of the assassins. The shirt had been stitched by a tailor, Pappu who had his shop in the town of Guru Harsahay.

On the basis of evidence from the tailor, the police went to Balwant Singh’s house in Mothanwali, but found

He gave himself up, accompanied by a Punjab Legislative Assembly member but police claimed to have arrested him after an armed encounter.

him to be not at home. His parents, Mrs. Kartaur Kaur and Inder Singh panicked and refused to tell the police where their son was, and consequently were taken to the police station for interrogation. The police thus came to know that Balwant Singh worked for Gurubaksh Singh and his brother Pratap Singh. On the afternoon of 23 November police raided their house but both the brothers were on the farm. Concerned villagers informed the brothers about the raid and advised them to stay away from the village for some time.

The police took the brothers mother, Mrs. Kartar Kaura fifty five year old woman into custody. When she failed to return from Guruharsahay police station after several days village elders led by Darshan Singh went to the police station and persuaded the officials to release her from their illegal custody. In return the village elders undertook to locate Pratap Singh and Gurubaksh Singh and promised to surrender them to the police. They kept their word and on 20 November a group of prominent citizens in the area, led by Mr. Joginder Singh Jogi, a member of the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandhak Committee (SGPC) and a chairman of the marketing committee of Guru Harasahay, accompanied Gurubaksh Singh to Jalalabad police station. He was taken into custody by the Station House Officer, Mr. Himmat Singh the same day.

On 22 November Balwant Singh was arrested and on 28 November Pratap Singh accompanied by a member of the legislative assembly, Sajjan Singh surrendered himself to the custody of Guruharsahay police station. There had been no formal charges brought against either Pratap Singh or Gurubaksh Singh and they had no previous criminal records. Balwant Singh alone was suspected of involvement in the murder of Mukhtyar Singh.

On30 November, Pratap Singh was produced in the court of Mr. H.R. Bhukal a judicial magistrate at Ferozpur. The police denied that Pratap Singh had given himself up to the police in the company of a member of the legislative assembly. They claimed that he had been arrested after an armed encounter with a group of terrorists, and charged him with several offenses under the Arms Act, the Indian Penal Code, and the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, The case was registered at the Jalalabad police station under First Information Report (FIR) No. 461 of 1987.

The court took cognizance of his arrest but ordered that an identification parade of the accused be held before 2 December 1987 in which under the observation of the magistrate the main witnesses of the case against the accused would be asked to identify him while he stood in a motley crowd. Perhaps because the parade would have given away the hoax the police filed an application in the court stating that they did not desire to hold the parade.

Gurubaksh Singh however had not been brought before a court despite the fact that he had been in police custody a week longer than his brother. On traveling to Ferozpur on December 1, Mrs, Kartar Kaur was unable to meet the senior officers of the district to inform them of the illegal custody of her son. She then sent a telegram to the Deputy Inspector General of Ferozpur Range expressing concern that false evidence was being brought against her son while he was being held illegally. Gurubaksh however was not released.

Instead on 9 December the police picked up Mahal

After 8 days in police custody the boys sister Mrs. Balbir Kaur’s mutilated body was dropped back. She died three months later without ever being able to leave her bed.

Singh husband of Mrs. Balbir Kaur (the sister of Gurubaksh Singh), Three days later Mrs. Balbir Kaur was also taken into police custody.

On 18 December 1987, newspapers published a report quoting a police handout which stated that two terrorists, Balwant Singh and Gurubaksh Singh had died in an armed encounter with the police in the agricultural fields of Ladhuwale on the night of 15 December. A Hindi newspaper, Punjab Kesri in its issue of 18 December published photographs of the two “terrorists” supposedly killed after an armed encounter they had with the police.

On 20 December after eight days of custody, the mutilated body of Mrs. Balbir Kaur was dropped back at their house in a police jeep. For the next three months she remained under medical treatment and died in March 1988 without ever being able to leave her bed again. Eight days of police custody had sealed her fate.

THE VICTIMS:

* Sikhs Men & Women

THE OPPRESSORS

* Punjab Police

* Central Police

*Criminal Investigation Agency

METHODS OF TORTURE

*Ripping Legs Apart

* Hanging Upside Down

* Rolling Heavy Pins on Legs till muscles rapture

* Chili powder stuffed into anus & petrol poured Over it.

OTHER SIGNIFICANT ACTS

* Illegal detentions by police.

* Extortion of money to release innocent people

* Extra judicial killings of those tortured beyond the limits.

* Threatening remaining family members with dire consequences.

LEGAL RECOURSE

* None under the new laws there is no legal recourse, accused are presumed guilty till they convince the police that they are innocent. Police does not maintain any record of these arrests.

This is India which is called a democracy. When will the world wake up and stop the genocide of the minorities.

We Urge You To Share This Information With Your Friends & Representatives.

These facts are brought to you by

There will be a childrens program on Baisakhi April 16 at the Gurdwara.

Mid Huston Sikh Cultural Society

Fishkill, NY 12590 Phone: 9148968994

Article extracted from this publication >>  April 14, 1989