They were murdered on the night of August 11-12, while in police custody, by the police party led by Inspector Shiv Kumar Sharma and Sub Inspector Balbir Chand Tiwari. The encounter was stage-managed, they were killed in cold blood as they were already in the police custody from August 6 and August 7, concluded the PHRO team.
It was also revealed before the team that Kashmir Singh, who was a village Gurdwara preacher, earlier, was picked up by the police and tortured, humiliated and stripped of all his clothes in the presence of many inside the Knamanon police station.
“Being an Amritdhari (baptised) Sikh, he could-not withstand this humiliation and torture, and left his home to join the underground political activities” said Gurdish Kaur. I along with my pregnant sister, Devinder Kaur, was picked up by the police and taken to Machhiwara police station. They asked us to tell the whereabouts of our brother, Kashmir Singh. As we did not know any, both of us were violated by the policemen. And this assault caused Devinder Kaur miscarriage of three months baby in her womb, she continued sobbingly. She also handed over to the team a copy of the complaint addressed to J.F. Rebeiro, advisor to the Punjab Governor which detailed the agony of her family. Similarly, the relatives of Baldev Singh Ghudani were subjected to raids, harassment, torture and humiliation by the police, according to Beldev’s brother Harbhajan Singh (34) and his wife Amarjit Kaur. Harbhajan Singh informed the PHRO team that they left home in the wake of police raids, arrests and harassment. “I along with my wife and two children remained almost underground for more than three years prior to the killing of Baldev Singh. Baldev Singh’s wife Surjit Kaur along with her two children had also shifted somewhere in Faridkot district’, said Harbhajan Singh adding that the police, having failed to apprehend Baldev Singh, who went underground in January 1986 to join the armed struggle for Khalistan, picked me up so many times from my village and kept in Payal, Sangrur, Malerkotla, Ladha Kothi, Amargarh, Lohatwadi and Bahadurgarh police stations for days and weeks where | was maltreated and tortured to know the whereabouts of Baldev Singh.
Police disrupts family life
He further added that he was taken out by the police on June 21, 1986 to “kill” him in an encounter but he was spared and released on June 23, 1986 on the condition that he should arrange Baldev Singh’s surrender. After that he and his family including Baldev Singh’s wife and children left home.
According to Amarjit Kaur, the police continued raiding their house, abused her and her sister Surjit Kaur including children, while her husband Harbhajan Singh was in police custody. “They threatened us that my husband will be killed by them in case we failed to surrender Baldev Singh” she said and added that all of them left home on June 24, 1986 and thereafter lived with relatives or friends because of the terror let loose on them and the threatened elimination by the police.
The police also continued raiding and harassing Amarjit Kaur’s other married sisters and their husbands. Her youngest sister Surinder Kaur’s husband Jarnail Singh was arrested and tortured by the Samrala police so many times. Similarly, Daljit Kaur’s husband Upkar Singh was falsely charged for harboring Baldev Singh and others by the Khamanon police.
“In absence from the village, our relative Kaur Singh who looked after our house and lands, was also arrested and kept for 15 days in the Payal police station by Inspector Sant Kumar. He was beaten up to know the whereabouts of Baldev Singh and Harbhajan Singh, my husband” added Amarjit Kaur.
After the death of Baldev Singh, they shifted to their village but once again Harbhajan Singh was picked up by the Payal police on September 2, 1989 and was shifted to CIA staff, Ludhiana where he was tortured for three days and was asked to help apprehend Baldev Singh’s companions.
These are not the only acts of state repression and brutality. There are hundreds of such cases in every district of Punjab, if not in every village. A cursory look at this report will give an idea about the real nature and the character of the Indian State today. You may arrive at your own conclusions on how the Indian state deals with mere dissenters and relatives of the Sikh activists. Democracy or rule of law is a thing of the past in India.
(D.S. Gill) Chairman
