LUDHIANA: The Punjab Human Rights Organization refuted a UNI (news agency) story from Gurdaspur recently published in a section of the Press that some Sikh militants molested and raped certain womenfolk in Pilibhit area at Kamapur colony. The organization alleged that the story had been planted by intelligence agencies to defame the people, engaged in the ongoing struggle for restoration of their basic rights.

The PHRO team comprising its Chairman, D.S.Gill and General Secretary, Mohinder Singh Grewal contacted members of the affected family who had migrated to their native village Nikko Saraiin the Dera Baba Nanak area from UP.

The team met, besides others, the village Sarpanch Santokh Singh and Sukhjinder Singh (23) son of Dalip Singh who, in his statement on oath before the PHRO team and the sarpanch, denied to have met any Dressman regarding the Pilibhit incident and their migration thereafter to Punjab.

According to PHRO team, there were 2 matrimonial disputes between Sukhjinder Singh and his wife Palwinder Kaur. It was on the instance of his in laws that a separation between Sukhjinder Singh and Palwinder Kaur was effected on November 14, 1990. Again they reconciled on the

Intervention of relatives and friends and Palwinder Kaur went to her in laws house in August 1991.

The mother in law of Sukhjinder Singh, however, continued to interfere and de manded that two acres of land should be transferred in her daughter’s name to which the family did not agree. The family sold their small land holding and shifted to their native village in Gurdaspur district to avoid further interference from Sukhjinder Singhs mother in law  Palwinder Kaur also accompanied his husband to Punjab, the report added.

The harassment by the mother in law continued in as much as she falsely com planed to the Gurdaspur Police that militants had been visiting the house of Dalip Singh in Punjab. Dalip Singhandh is brother Sardul Singh were rounded up by the police in connection with the false information, The sarpanch and other elders of the village brought facts into the notice of the police and got them released after two days, said the PHRO activists.

Sukhjinder Singh, they said, pledged before the PHRO that no one from the Gurdaspur UNI ever met them and the story filed by it on September 1 last that his wife, sister and mother were sexually molested and raped by the militants and their old settlement near Pilibhit was mischievous and aimed at defaming the reputation of his family and of the Sikh militants.

LUDHIANA: The Punjab Sikh Lawyers Council (PSLC) has called upon all the Sikh organizations not to be dragged into the controversies over revival of “kar eva of the Akal Takht and the Joint Action Committee (AC), now called into question by the Panthic Committees associated with Dr. Sohan Singh and Baba Gurbachan Singh Manochahal.

Certain individuals with vested interests in the over ground organizations are making these two issues appoint of clash among the Sikhs to advance their careers and to stage a comeback. And in the process, the entire Panth especially the militants, the PSLC feared, would be dragged into these controversies, propagated by certain pseudo human rightists in connivance with the diehard Akalis who have lost their prestige and relevance.

This was stated herein a press release by the PSLC presidium member, D.S.Gill and its general secretary, Mo hinder Singh Grewal adding “It is Sarbat Khalsa which is the final authority in religion political affairs of the Sikhs and the Panthic Committee is there to implement the Gurmata”.

The Sikh lawyer’s body. Therefore,  called upon the Panth Committees including the Babbar Khalsa International to mutually decide the issue of “kar seva” of the Akal Takht. The SGPC, the Sikh lawyers said, has nothing to do with it in the present context.

The SGPC and the traditional Akalis, the SLC activists said had been opposing the Sarbat Khalsa of January 1986 and to counter that, they had even convened a parallel Sarbat Khalsa at Anandpur Sahib on February 16, 1986. Their “brave” declarations on August 11 and September 1 this year at Anandpur Sahib were not without strings.

It is also intriguing, they added, that both the Anandpur Sahib conclaves on the one hand had gone on record acknowledging the supremacy of militants and, on the other hand, certain participants in these meets have now convened a meeting of the JAC in violation of the edicts issued by the Panthic Committee.

Article extracted from this publication >> November 8, 1991