Surjit Kaur Ainala & Narinder Kaur Ajnala
Among the people arrested from the Golden Temple during Operation Black Thunder, were the mother and wife of Malkiat Singh Ajnala. They were sent to Sangrur jail. A special court of Judge Nirmal Singh set up to deal with the Black Thunder cases granted bail on Jan 27 to Surjit Kaur, wife of Malkiat Singh and Narinder Kaur wife of Gurdip Singh as well as to others. Fearing re-arrest they did not get themselves bailed for 15-20 days. However, on Feb 14, 1989, bail applications were filed and they were released on Feb 1 6.
Immediately on their release the Sangrur police abducted them and took them to Police station Kotwali, after which the Amritsar Kotwali police took them, from where they were sent to the Ajnala police. When their relatives approached the Ajnala police, they refused to release them on the plea that, “we have orders from our superiors that they are not to be released.”
Finally on February 22 a case 33/39 was filed against them under section21 6IPC and 3/4 TDA (P), and they were sent to jail. It was alleged that the police had seen Satnam Singh Satta running from their house and that they had raised Khalistan slogans.
They were held for five months. Bail applications were filed on Aug 8 but the police became active in trying to catch them again. A van without license plates was seen standing in front of the jail on Aug 9.
When Surjit Kaur and Narinder Kaur learnt about the fact that the police wanted to catch them again, they gave a written application to the jail superintendent stating that they did not wish to be released at night. The very same day Judge J.S. Sidhu was to hold a special court hearing within the jail premises on the Black Thunder cases. The two women filed an application requesting him to cancel their bail, because they were convinced that the police would re arrest them. The Judge denied their request. Surjit Kaur and Narinder Kaur were released on Aug 18 at about 4 pm from the jail and the police which was standing outside whisked them away to an unknown place.
Rashpal Kaur Amarkot, Kartar Kaur Amarkot
& Swaran Kaur Amarkot
Rashpal Kaur (23 years) is an employee of the Prabhat Finance and Investment Co. She is the mother of a child and her husband is a truck driver. She was standing outside her house at about 7:15 pm when a police Matador van approached her and SHO Avtar Singh as well as a dozen policemen emerged from it surrounding her. They asked her if she was the Lambardarni to which she replied negatively and said that she worked in the Prabhat Finance and Investment Co. At this the SHO got incensed for some reason. He caught her by her plait and threw her on the ground. The policemen accompanying him started beating her up. When her neighbor Swaran Kaur asked him why he was beating her, policemen started beating her too. After a hue and cry was raised, Iqbal Singh, a prominent citizen asked the police the reason for their beating up the women and faced her wrath. Swaran Kaur’s 60 year old mother Kartar Kaur tried to intervene and save her daughter but the policemen boxed her. When another prominent person, 70 year old
Bhai Didar Singh tried to intervene, he too was beaten up and was thrown into the van
along with the other four.
During this confusion Iqbal Singh managed to slip away but the police took Didar Singh and the three women to Police Station Valtoha. They were beaten up with rifle Butts on the way to the police station. Swaran Kaur, Kartar Kaur and Didar Singh were left at the police station but Rashpal Kaur was taken to the quarters of ASI Kali Das which are opposite the station in the police quarters. Kali Das who was dead drunk, pounced on her, tore off her clothes, and raped her numerous times. He turned her out at 6 am after threatening to eliminate her and her husband if Rashpal Kaur revealed what had transpired during the night.
Later that day the panchayats of Amarkot, Bhura, Kona and Mahmudpura etc came to the police station and got the three women and Didar Singh released. On learning the atrocities committed against Rashpal Kaur, they complained to the senior officials who however refused to register a case of rape against Kali Das. The press statement by Prof Darshan Singh that an action has been taken against Kali Das is a lie.
Harbans Kaur Malia
When the elderly mother Harbans Kaur of Malia village in the Khalra area of Amritsar District came back after spending 30 hours in police custody at Chabal police station, she was a pitiable sight just a bag of bones. She could neither urinate, nor was her digestive system functioning, nor could she eat normally. She could swallow nothing more than a few drops of water or milk, and if her family tried to give her some liquefied food, she would vomit and would seem near death. Her family was also not in the condition where they could get adequate treatment for her.
A police party of Chabhal lead by a Sub Inspector and an Assistant Sub Inspector raided her house on 20 September. They were looking for her son. At 4 am while everyone was sleeping, the police started battering the doors and pushed their way in and started pushing the women and children around.
Harbans Kaur’s elder son, Kashmir had gone to his in laws house at this time and her younger son Jasbir and young girls jumped the boundary walls and ran away to their neighbors’ homes in fear.
When the police could not find her son after searching every nook and cranny of the house, they decided to take Jagir Singh’s widow Kashmir Kaur, but when Harbans Kaur tried to stop them from doing so they beat her and took her with them. She was thrown into a dark cell of police station. Chabbal with instructions that she was to be released only after Kashmir Singh gave himself up. She was finally released on Sept 21 when her son gave himself up. An idea of what the old lady endured in the 30 hours of imprisonment could be gauged from her earlier mentioned condition.
The Chabbal police had earlier illegally detained the daughter of a watchman of the
same village.
Krishan Ghavdi, Baljit Kaur Ghavdi, Manjit Kaur Ghavdi
Harpreet Kaur Ghavdi & Palvinder Kaur Ghavdi
The family of Hardev Singh, mechanic of village Ghavdi which falls under the jurisdiction in Ludhiana district, has been made homeless by police atrocities. Hardev Singh’s wife of police station Sadar Krishna and his five innocent daughters, Baljit Kaur (19 years), Manjit Kaur (17 years), Harpreet Kaur (14 years), Palvinder Kaur (12 years) and Sukhvinder Kaur (10 years) have been arrested and tortured numerous times by the police of Delhon and Sadar police stations.
Hardev Singh’s son Gurmit Singh ran a TV repair shop at Rara Sahib. The Dehlon police started raiding the shop frequently. The village council produced Gurmit Singh on Sept 1,198 6 before the police. He was released then but a week later his mother Krishna Kaur was taken by the police as during the time of the raid Gurmit Singh Haq gone to Dhuri. He was later arrested there and brought to the police station. When the village council went to get Krishna released they were humiliated. Even though Gurmit Singh had been arrested in Dhun, he was shown to have been arrested 12 days later in Khanpur and was implicated in 4 cases. During these days the Payal and Focal Point police also implicated him in another murder case, but because of lack of evidence he was bailed out. He was re-arrested in May 87 and implicated in an arms case at Major. After he was bailed out 9 months later, police again got after him. Tired of the repeated raids on their home Gurmit Singh and his sister shifted to Churi, where they started a shop. The father got a job as a laborer in Anandpur.
The ‘police still did not leave him alone and in Oct 1988 they arrested Hardev Singh, Gurmukh Singh Bassia, Joginder Singh, Krishna and her five daughters and took them to the police station. The whole night they including the girls were beaten. After two days of beatings the girls were let off but police said that Gurmukhi Singh Bassi was killed in an encounter near Ladowal that very night. Gurmit Singh after seeing all this fled.
Gurmit Singh’s elder sister Baljit Kaur started learning typing so as to find a job and support the family. On May 19, 1989 she was coming back from “Prem Typing School” when two people on scooter number PCK 3 684 approached her and asked her if she was the sister of Gurmit Singh the terrorist. When she said yes, they told her that their boss wanted to question her about her brother. One of these men had his name Teja Singh tattooed on his arm. She later found out that the other was Harjinder ‘Singh.
They took her to Quarter number HE 159 of the Housing Board Colony, Jamalpur. There another
person, Major Singh joined them. Harjinder Singh and Major Singh are both police constables. The former is posted at PS Sadar (number 2033/LOM) and the latter at PS Focal Point (number 19/LOM). They raped her and released her in the morning. After escaping from their clutches, Baljit Kaur went home and the following day, she and her parents went to Advocate Gurcharan Singh Ghuman and told him her heartrending experience. He and other lawyers there comforted her and advised her to file a case in court.
Harbans Kaur, Jasvir Kaur and Simranjit Kaur
Charanjit Singh Chani was an important militant leader, who was sought by the police. His wife Harbans Kaur and his sister in law, Jasvir Kaur Jasi were arrested by the SHO of Rajkot and badly humiliated. They were threatened that they would be stripped and publicly gang raped. This caused Jasvir Kaur Jasi’s husband to divorce her. Harbans Kaur had been taken to the police station often, this time both her children, aged 7 and 5 were also taken and threatened.
Charanjit Singh Chani’s sister who is unmarried, was also arrested and taken to the PS Raikot by the SHO, who abused her and threatened to have the entire family eliminated.
Only the intervention of the village council and prominent individuals made him release her.
The police has already killed Charanjit Singh Chani in a false encounter, but they are still not satisfied and are still harassing Harbans Kaur and raid her house often. In an open letter to the Punjab police chief K PS Gill she has stated, “I would like to ask you why an Inspector Shiv Kumar of CIA Staff, Ludhiana who is a very vicious individual, raided my quarter on the night of Sept 21, at 8:45 pm? Why did he behave in an abominable manner with me and ask me various kinds of vulgar questions for an hour? After this what is the value of your public statements that women will not be harassed. My two young children whose father you killed to appease your bosses pray to the Almighty to grant you good sense.
Gurmit Kaur Lopoke
Police has been harassing and threatening Gurmit Kaur of village Lopoke in District Amritsar. She had earlier been illegally detained and tortured by the Ajnala police the police has killed her son in Rajgburbaksh Singh and her husband Gurmej Singh.
Devinder Kaur
The police had been harassing the Granthi of Lalowal, Kashmir Singh, who had been the victim of police atrocities often. Once he was publicly stripped and beaten at P.S Khamano. When Kashmir Singh ran away from home to avoid this harassment, the police picked up his sisters Gurdish Kaur and Devinder Kaur along with their husbands and brought them to the police station. The sisters were tortured so badly that Devinder Kaur who was pregnant miscarried. Police shot dead Kashmir Singh on August 11, 1989. He had been in their custody for a few days.
Sarabjit Kaur Bham & Salvinder Kaur Bham
Two young girls, Sarabjit Kaur (14 years) & Salvinder Kaur (13 years) were abducted by two policemen on June 11, 1989. After being raped for a few days they killed them and tried to hide the bodies, so as not to leave any evidence. After a long search the two dead bodies were found in a canalonJune1 6. Both the girls had stepped out of the house to pick up some clay. When they did not return for quite a long while their parents got worried and started making inquiries, but could not find them anywhere. They then filed a complaint at the police station in which they said that they suspected one Roshan Lal, the in charge of a SPO picket posted near the village. Before the disappearance of the girls, the villagers had seen him roaming about drunk. When the parents tried to file the report against Roshan Lal, the police refused to do so in the grounds that they would file the case only after the girls were found, dead or alive.
After repeated refusals to file the case by the police and an attempt to cover up the case, some villagers became angry. They tried to meet SSP Gobind Ram but at the lack of official response, they decided to meet Punjab Governor S.S. Ray who was scheduled to visit Kalanor. The police didn’t let them meet him and pushed them away.
The police instead of attempting to punish the guilty attempted a cover up and started Pressurizing the parents to write a note to say that the girls had committed suicide. How could the parents do this? At their refusal to do so, the police beat up the father of one of the two girls. After the post mortem the police tried to whisk away the bodies, declare them as unclaimed and cremate them. But when people and the parents learnt of this conspiracy, they stood in front of the dead bodies. Though the police beat up those who stood in the way, they finally had to concede defeat in the face of the determination of the people. They were finally forced to release the badly decomposing bodies.
Gurdev Kaur Amritsar
Batala police abducted Gurdev Kaur and Gurmit Kaur from the Prabhat Finance Company, in front of Khalsa College, Amritsar on Aug 21, 1989. Their mistreatment at Police a station is a hair raising, heart rending episode.
Gurdev Kaur states, “a van with tinted windows came and parked in front of the headquarters of the Prabhat Finance Company at about 3:30 PM and 6 men got out of came towards Gurmit Kaur and me and demanded that we accompany them. We said we didn’t know them. They were all armed. One of them showed us his identification Papers, which said he was Lakhwinder Singh Lakha, policemen. He said that he had come from the Batala Sadar police station and that we would have to accompany them We shouted that we would not do so, but they threw us in their vehicle and said that they would take us to Batala.
They took both of us to the Batala interrogation center Beacon, where we arrived at 7 pm. SSP Gobind Ram was personally thrashing a Sikh youth with a rod. Suddenly he came towards me and hit me in my stomach with the rod. I fell down and started bleeding from my private part. This condition lasted for several days. Gobind Ram kept hitting me in the stomach for five minutes after which he detailed an Inspector who kept hitting me on the joints. Then they put a heavy roller on my thighs and made a few policemen stand on it, while others rotated it. I kept on screaming but they hit me with belts and kept on asking me the whereabouts of my husband Kulwant Singh.
My husband turned an absconder after repeated torture by the police and since the last few years we don’t know his whereabouts. He was an officer in the Guru Ram Dass Sarai branch of the Punjab and Sind Bank. We were leading a happy social life but after my usband’s repeated arrest and torture he ran away. Police had similarly forced Gurmit Kaur’s husband Mehal Singh (who is the brother of Babbar Khalsa Chief Sukhdev Singh Babbar), to abscond. She also has three children who are now being neglected. We are both working and trying to support our families but the police doesn’t even let us live.
I told Gobind Ram that I didn’t know anything about my husband but he was adamant and insisted that terrorists come to my home. He also abused me. Finally he put a roller on my legs and made some policemen stand on top. I fainted for quite a while. A policeman put a sip of water in my mouth. When I came to, Gobind Ram asked me if I had come to my senses.
We were brought out of Be eco to a police station at 11:30 pm, where we spent the night. I was taken back to Be eco at 9 am on 22. The flesh on my shoulders had torn, and someone was brought to massage it. I was suddenly released at 4 pm. By this time my relatives had also come and they brought me home.
Two letters from Sisters in Sorrow
To Kawaljit Kaur, editor Samparkh
I, Gurdev Kaur am writing this letter while under the detention of Inspector Avtar Singh of the CIA staff in Jalandhar. I am the wife of Sardar Gian Singh, President Sri Guru Singh Sabha, Chamber Camp, Bombay. Avtar Singh picked me up from my home in Khanna, while my blind mother in law and my children cried for me. There was no police lady with him. My family didn’t know where I was. I have been held in the lockup for 22 days. They torture me and abuse me. When I ask them why they are doing this, they say that your husband Gian Singh is a problem for the government, he is a terrorist.
Sister, we came to Punjab after the assassination of Indira Gandhi, I have no idea what my husband does when he goes out. I have two buffaloes and I sell milk to raise my family. We get some money from the lands. My elder son used to take care of the trucks, but he was arrested and badly beaten up by the police twice and we had to give 30,000 to buy his freedom after which we don’t know where he is. CBI used to come for interrogations. They seized our vehicles the truck is parked at the Khanna police station the jeep at the Mohali police station, and we don’t know where they took our other two vehicles. My younger son and my brother in law are lodged in the Ludhiana jail. Despite all this I was rearing my children but he did not even let this happen and has now detained me too.
To Dr Jiwan Jot Kaur, Editor Sheehni
The incident in Sarchur has already been stated in detail along with how police chief Gobind Ram of Batala had forced the entire village to abuse Sujit Kaur and had made In human threats. Sunjit Kaur was jailed at the time but since her release police has been after her. Her 15 year old daughter has stated in a letter that:
Dear Sister.
I am writing to you with a heavy heart. Since the release of my mother, police has started raiding our house a lot in order to arrest her again. They harass us and keep on inquiring about our mother’s whereabouts. My mother has not come home since her release. What should we do? I am very unhappy and cannot think of anything else to do. I thought of you and am writing to you about our family’s woes. SSP Gobind Ram had publicly announced about my mother, “let her come out on bail. If I don’t make her dance naked in the village …” He wants to do precisely that, he wants to humiliate my mother. Sister, we are tried and wonder when the day will come when our whole family will be together at home. Papa doesn’t live at home either; it’s just us two sisters alone.
How long are we supposed to suffer? The human heart will break as it is not made of stone. Nothing else can be expected from this government which persecutes the innocent.
Papa is very scared and he says that he may leave home in order to escape the clutches of the Police. I keep telling him that if we leave the house, we will not be able to settle down.
Mama left home seven days ago and we don’t know where she is. She has had to leave home in order to escape the clutches of the police, just as she had to do when she stayed at home. Sister sometimes I feel tired of life, what is there in it when despite not committing any crime we have to live, hide and flee like criminals. Sister, another restriction has been placed on us. We have to close our doors at 5 pm and are not allowed to open them till 7 am.
Be it a Mir Manu, a Zakria Khan, General Dyer or J.F Riberio, butcher Ray or KPS Gill or Hitler, Mussolini or even Chiang Chai Shek, they have never been moved by the tears of the people. The fight against tyranny has not been fueled by the pleas of the innocent but by their power, daring and perseverance. On the strength of this daring and perseverance, the people threw out the tyrants throughout the course of history. Many a tyrannical ruler is buried in the landfill of history and generations to come will spit at the mention of their names.