NEW DELHI: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has taken cognizance of the “disappearance” of Ms. Gurmej Kaur, 70, the mother of slain Bhindcranwale Tiger force of Khalistan (BTEK) chief Gurbachan Singh Manochahal, two years ago and asked the Punjab Government to submit a detailed report in this regard within a month.
The NHRC sent a communication to the Punjab Chief Secretary last week in this regard along with a letter from Amnesty International, appearing in the “letters to editor” column of an Indian newspaper, the Commission Sources said here last week.
Amnesty International, in its letter, said according to its information, Ms. Gurmej Kaur and members of her family including her husband were taken into custody in June 1992 when Manochahal and his accomplices were still operating in the Amritsar area.
Manochahal was killed in an encounter with police on February 28, 1993 at Rataul village in Amritsar district.
The Amnesty International said Gurmej Kaur’s family was held in detention at the Verowal police station till she was separated from her family on March 17, 1993 and since then her “whereabouts have been unknown.”
In another case, the Commission has decided to intervene in the pending court proceedings in the Punjab and Haryana High Court relating to the disappearance of Harjit Singh, an employee of the Punjab State Electricity Board. He was alleged to have been arrested by the police on April 29, 1992.
In this case too Amnesty International had expressed concern over the lack of progress in legal proceedings initiated in October 1992, to clarify the whereabouts of Harjit Singh after his alleged arrest.
According to the Amnesty International report, brought out by it in February 1994, “police did not have fan arrest warrant and subsequently denied the arrest, claiming that Harjit Sing hand another man were a plured on May 11, 1992 after an encounter with police, Police took both men to recover hidden arms and while doing $0, they were attacked by militants during which the two men were killed.” ‘The Report claimed that Harjit Singh was twice seen alive by his father in police custody after the police claimed that his son had been killed.
After perusing the Amnesty Report, the NHRC decided to call a report in this regard from the Punjab Government. But the State Government reiterated that Harjit Singh died in a police encounter, meanwhile, the father of Harjit Singh filed a criminal petition in the High Court in the ease, A Session Judge had been appointed to conduct an ‘enquiry into the matter two years ago. Observing that more than two years had elapsed since the courts direction for a report on the matter, the Commission decided to intervene in the pending proceedings on May 23 last. The Commission sources said it had appointed a senior advocate of Chandigarh to move the court with a request to fix a peremptory, date by which the report should be submitted by the Session Judge, Chandigarh.
Article extracted from this publication >> September 22, 1995
