Ray and Riberio used the tactic of creating secret 8angs consisting of anti-social criminals who would Penetrate the networks of revolutionaries, identifying them and their sympathizers and kill them. They were also used to commit acts which would be said to have been done by the activists so that the movement could be discredited.

In a way it was easy for them to do so because some groups selfish and unthinkingly indulged in Activities which included killing of innocent people, indiscriminate firing on Hindus, sending ransom Notes, and at times even abducting children. As a result of this there was resentment against them in the common populace and it was easy to pin these activities of the killer gangs to the militant groups. Ray and Riberio made full use of the weakness of the militant groups.

Those who were selected by Ray and Riberio for the killer gangs included criminals, some groups of the Nihangs and some infiltrators within the militant movement, who were either scared of police tortures or wanted some material benefits. The first such gang was established by the then SSP of Amritsar Azhar Alam, as a result of which people started calling the group Alam Sena (Alam’s Army). Alam had himself named them Panthic Tiger Force and Red Brigade. The first name was kept because he wanted to usurp the power in the Gurdwaras through them, for which the pseudo religious name was essential. He called them by the latter name to strike an association with the Red Brigade in Europe.

The importance of the Black Cats in the strategy of the government can be guaged from an interview with Punjab Police Chief KPS Gill in the weekly magazine “India Today” dated Sept 15, 1988. Inan interview with correspondent V.A. Mudgil Gill said that there was no question of disbanding the secret units in the Punjab since the security forces could not do anything without them.

The activities of these gangs which include murder even of those people who have cases filed against them, or other anti-social activities which violates the laws of the land which the Government has made and is supposed to uphold. The authorities keep on praising them and declaring themselves as their guardians so as to legitimize them. They are not only breaking the law in this case, but also claim this is essential. According to Riberio, “there is no doubt that we are using individuals like Dalbir Singh. This would hot even have been revealed if two of our officers (Sital Dass and Baldey Singh Brar) had not been murdered… Don’t governments use spies to gather information? Is it against the law to do so? We are fighting an undeclared war in Punjab in which all that matters is the elimination of the murders.” This statement of Riberio’s implies that the only objective of the government is to eliminate the militants, whether by legal or illegal means. All that matters in a war is the elimination of those seen as the enemy.

Initially the government kept the activities of these“*Black Cats” a well-guarded secret and whenever any news of their activities leaked out the police officers would vehemently deny it. When it became impossible to cover up their activities and deny their existence, police officers like Riberio and Gill started accepting the responsibility for some of their activities and starting offering the afore mentioned explanations. The “Black Cats” are under the direct command of the Police Chief and coordinate all their activates with them. They wear the distinctive robes of the orthodox Sikhs and AK 47 rifles. 3

The kind of havoc that these “‘Black Cats’ wrought has been described ina report published in a report in the Punjabi Tribune. The report said,

“Black Cats” disguised as terrorists go to a village and demand food from the people which is provided to them. Some people reported cases of looting, beatings, and abduction of women by the “Black Cats”. As the Nari Manch (Women’s Forum) and the Punjab Human Rights Organization published reports about police atrocities on women (which were published by as a special supplement “So Much Suffering, So Much Sorrow, Such a Shame,” on July 21, 1989) the Black Cats started harassing the women more so that it would appear that the police as well as militants behaved with similar viciousness towards women. “Black Cats” first demand food at the point of AK 47’s and then a few days later, they don police uniforms and raid the people, accusing them of harboring terrorists and confounding them with detailed information. This often resulted in their being able to extort large sums of money.

The activities of 8 prominent commanders (dead or alive) of the “Black Cats” are given in the white paper. They include Santokh Kala, Phoola Nihang, ASI Dalbir, Jaswinder Kala and Lakha Maruti, Channa Dyalgarhia and Pinki of Ludiana. We give excerpts of Kala’s story.

Article extracted from this publication >> April 6, 1990