The Indian army is a force to reckon with not only in the Indian subcontinent but with in India, too. A small news item from Indian suggesting that the Punjab government has reverted Chandigarh senior superintendent of police Sumedh Saini to his parent state of Punjab and has also decided to charge sheet him for indiscipline ‘on account of beating up of Lt.Col.Ravi Vats of the Indian army should not be dismissed as a nonevent. This incident outwardly looks insignificant. But it really is 4n important development. The action against Saini is a straw in the wind. It is symbolic. It barely reveals much but hides a great deal of the reality of Indian is. A careful, long term watch needs to be kept. On the issues behind the action against Saini. Who is Saini, anyway? He is a Junior Indian police service officer ‘posted in Punjab to organize ant militant actions. He headed the Indian forces in ‘several Punjab districts in the past few years. Due to his ruthlessness against Sikh activists, the Indian central government regarded Saini as its “blue cyed boy” worthy of all support. He organized numerous fake encounters and after every such action Saini’s stock in Delhi went up. The “self-controlled” Indian media made a hero out of this small sized man. Hindu women flocked to Saini’s house to tic a “rakhi” to his hand and wished him a long life for his antiSikh militant crusade. The Indian government was all set to announce a suitable national award in recognition of Saini”s services to the Hindu state of India. Delhi’s move was interfered with by reports that Saini was behind the slaughter of the entire family of a Sikh militant in Ropar district whom he suspected of being behind a bomb attack on him at Chandigarh. The revelation came from none else than the head of the Ropar district police himself.

It was undoubtedly a heinous crime Saini had organized when an 80yrold grandmother and a seventyfold niece of the Sikh militant was among eight relations killed. In any civilized order of governance Saini should have been tried of murder and hanged. But he enjoyed full immunity from the clutches of law thanks to ascetics of lawless laws enacted by the Indian Hindu parliament against the Sikhs and other minoritics. Above all, Saini is the “blue eyed boy” of the Indian central government India’s context, it means the so-called “prime minister house” which, further, implies the Indian Prime Minister, P.V.Narasimha Rao, himself. Thus ordinarily no police officer engaged in all important ant militant operations in Punjab or Kashmir can be called into question whatever his crimes. The action, if any, if ever, is taken at their insistence of the Indian prime minister personally against any “wrong doing by any police officer, Even the then Punjab governor, S.S Ray could not take action against another “blue eyed boy” of the Indian prime minister, Gobind Ram, who as chief of Batala police district had beaten up the entire population of several villages for being sympathetic to the Sikh activists struggle for freedom. Another Punjab governor, General Malhotra, could take no action against the station house officer of Mohali, a junior police official, for his misbehavior with an activist of the then ruling party headed by Chander Shekhar when the prime minister had willed otherwise.

The episode involving the beating up of Col Vats took place in October 1992 at Chandigarh. Vats was on leave and was living in his sector 7 houses. Saini came to visit the area in connection with the murder of his wife and daughter allegedly by gunmen of the Chandigarh police chief. There was exchange of words between Saini Vats. The police chief pounced personally upon the colonel with sticks and Saini’s juniors got the signal to thrash Vats further in the presence of several residents of the area. Vats was then taken to the police station and was kept there in illegal custody until the morning. The colonel even raised his hands and told the police that he was a serving army officer higher in rank than Saini but to no avail. On release the colonel reported the matter to his command at Chandi Mandir. The army already had in its Possession numerous similar complaints of police highhandedness against army officers in Punjab where the any is posted in strength to assist the police against Sikh activists. The army’s patience had been exhausted, It was just the right time for it to call a halt to police excesses against the army officers posted in Punjab or on leave in the state. There was acute resentment against the police and the civilian authorities for not attending to the army communicate Every such complaint is finally disposed by the Indian prime minister himself and he is in no mood to annoy his “blue eyed boys” because they are engaged in the Hindu nation’s battle against the Sikh activists. The Vats episode was the culmination. The matter evidently was raised by senior defense officers with their minister who, in tum, took it up with the prime minister. Thus a woman enquiry Committee was set investigate the matter. The committee comprised a police officer and an army officer. The two gave separate reports one holding Saini guilty of misconduct.

Article extracted from this publication >>  January 8, 1993