JALANDHAR: The H.L_Randev Commission appointed by the Supreme Court has held the Hoshiarpur district police responsible for the mysterious disappearance of Kuljit Singh, a relative of Shahid Bhagat Singh, from police custody.
In its report submitted recently to the apex court, the commission observed, “I don’t feel convinced at all that actually Kuljit Singh escaped from the police custody as represented by the police. They have utterly failed to explain as to what happened to him during the course of his detention in police custody.”
Kuljit Singh, sarpanch of village Ambala Jattan, was picked up by the police of Gardhiwala police post under Dasuya in Hoshiarpur district on July 23, 1989 in connection with a murder case. The police later told his family members that Kuljit escaped from police custody on the night of July 25 and jumped into the Beas.
But Harbhajan Singh Dhatt, Kuljit’s brother and his mother-in-law Parkash Kaur, who is the sister of Shahid Bhagat Singh, did not believe the police version and filed a petition in the Supreme Court, which ordered an inquiry into the alleged escape of Kuljit from the police custody by retired session judge Randev.
The copies of the commission’s 73page report were released to the Press here on Dec. 12, by the Punjab Human Rights Organization chairman Ajit Singh Bains.
The commission has stated that if Kuljit Singh had not escaped from police custody, he was expected to remain in their custody but the respondent’s case is that he is no more in their custody, in this situation, it is not improbable that he died in police custody as it apprehended by the petitioners.
He observed that, “If it is so, the police officers who held his custody at that time, had reasons to suppress the same by putting forth a false theory of his escape so as to obviate liability in respect thereof.” The commission has pointed out in its report that the police had tampered with the original FIR of the murder case, in connection with which Kuljit was arrested, and fabricated and interpolated the police file to make a case of concealment of firearms by the victim.
The commission has held the then SP (operation) Hoshiarpur S.P.Singh Basra, and DSP Ajit Singh, responsible for hushing up the case and ‘Tanda police station SHO Sardul Singh, in charge of Garhdiwala police post Sita Ram and Jaspal Singh of Dasuya police station, for Kuljit Singh’s mysterious disappearance. ‘The writ petition is pending in the Supreme Court.
Article extracted from this publication >> December 17, 1993
