LUDHIANA: An Indian Sikh engineer belonging to the Central Public Works Department, Bir Singh, was killed by the Punjab Police at Ludhiana when it fired on him without warning in the course of the operation “night dominance.”

The engineer who had come topic in-laws village, Thrike, on the outskirts of Ludhiana, in connection with a religious rite, was on his way to a hospital to have his six-yrs.-old daughter examined. The girl, Damanjeet Kaur, who suddenly fell ill, was discharged after treatment in the wake of her father’s death.

These revelations are contained in a report of investigation prepared by International Human Rights Organization officials (THRO) Mohinder Singh Grewal and Gurbhajan Singh Gill. Bir Singh was driving his brother in-law Bikramjit Singhs scooter while Daman jit was on another scooter driven by Bir Singhs brother-in-law head constable Raghbir Singh.

When they reached near Acharya Jain Muni Ashram close to the Ludhiana-Ferozepur road, a volley of gunshots pierced through Bir Singhs body. He fell from the scooter while head constable Raghbir Singh shouted and abused the police man responsible for the blind firing upon the escorts of the patient. The firing group was headed by ASI Gurpreet Singh. Bir Singh died instantaneously while Raghbir Singh had his night wrist fractured.

But for his police connection, others too would have died in the firing because the police stopped the firing after the head constable shouted his identity.

The I.H.R.O, report described as false a police claim through the media the next day that the engineered died in across firing between the police and the militants. The police never signaled the group to stop. The I.H.R.O. said that the true import of the Punjab polices night dominance program is that no one should venture out of his house even if one is dying for want of medical help. In other words, Punjab is in for a total night curfew in the next few weeks.

Bir Singhs father-in-law, Amar Singh, in a letter to the director general of Punjab police demanded registration of a criminal case against the police party responsible for the murder of Bir Singh. He also demanded compensation for the family.

Article extracted from this publication >> September 11, 1992