A copy of the complaint was received by Justice Ajit Singh Bains (Retd), Chairman of the Punjab Human Rights Organization, from elected village heads (Sarpanches) ,“Elected Members of village councils (Panches) and other prominent persons of nine Boarder Villages of ‘Tehsil Ajnala Distt. Amritsar, Punjab. Complaint is regarding their humiliation by the Local Brigade Commander Brig RP. Sinh (Brigade Head Quarter at Lopoke Village Tehsil Ajnala Distt. Amritsar).
On receiving the complaint P.lH.ii.0 decider to send a team consisting of Maj. Gen. Narinder Singh (Retd.), Vice Chairman, Dr. Mrs. Sukhjeet Kaur Gill Vice Chairperson and Mr. Jaspal Singh Secretary of the P.H.R.O to inquire into this complaint.
P.H.R.O. team met the concerned persons on 4th April, 91. The villages are Sarangra, Rai, Pandori, Chack Alla Bakhsh, Rania, Manj, Panju Rai, Lodhi Gujran Kakar. The team asked all of them to collect at Village Sarangra on the morning of 5th April,91. Ilere the team talked to their collectively at length to get their version of the incident after which individual detailed statements of the following persons were recorded:-
S.Dava Singh S/o S.Niranjan Singh-Sarpanch, Makar
S.Bawa Singh S/o S, Bhan Singh -Sarpanch of Chak
Alla Bakhsh
S.Niranjan Singh S/oS,Narain Singh-Ex-member Panchayat
Paniu Rai
Gurnam Singh “Member Panchayat
Chak Alla Lukhsh
- warinder Singh S/o S.udham Singh=Sarpancn Sarangra
- Jarnail Singh S/o S,.i.artar Singh-Charx all Bakhsh
- Jagdish Singh S/o Nazar Singh -Sarangra
English versions of four recorded statements are attached, rest’ being factually similar.
The statements of above named persons were recorded in the presence of the following persons who corroborated these and gave briefly their reactions to which they have appended their signatures/thumb impressions to authenticate it:-
Darshan Singh S/o Surat Singh -Nanberdar of one from his village has joined the Militants. These people further told the Brigadier that there are Political, Economical and Religion problems in Punjab. If the Government solved these situation would normalise, Punjab did not have any justice from the Central Government. The Government instead of giving justice, took recourse to repression, Some people took up arms. Government mounted a full scale attack on the Golden Temple on the Martyrdom day of Guru Arjan Davji, This was a direct attack on our religion, later one person shot dead the then Prime Minister Jirs, Indira Gandhi and thousands: of Sikhs were massacred in various cities of India. They told Brigadier R.P. Sinh, now the situation is neither in their hands nor in the sphere of the Army. It appeared to them that Government was not keen to solve the problem because there is continuous increase in high-handedness and state repression. The Government says something but does something different. You can see this from the language police. ‘The Punjab government gave the impression of their keen desire to introduce fully the use of Punjabi language. On the other hand vehicles with number plates in Punjabi are impounded and heavy fines imposed. On this the Brigadier stated that he had 30 years serviced much of which he had spent in the Punjab and he understood the Sikhs very well and warned that Sikhs should be beware that they are not the only people who can take up arms; others in the country could also use arms. He generally expressed resentment and – dislike for the Sikhs a On 7th April, 91 a suspected militant was killed in the area by Para military forces. As a sequel to this incident Brig. R.P. Sinh had Sarpanches, Panches and some other village elder of nine border villages (about 25 in number) collected at the army camp Sarangra on 8th April, 91, They were all made to sit in the office of the School headmaster around which armed guards about 100 in number of the army were positioned, The Brigadier appeared to have been quite worked up. After enquiring from them if he could be heard by them all and they all understood Hindi, he told them that about a month ago he has collected them to listen to their difficulties etc. but today he had come to speak to them and no one were to interrupt him.
Name of all the persons with their addresses were noted down.
The Brigadier accused them of being accomplices of militants and providing them food and shelter. He threatened them of dire consequences should there be any more firing incident in the area and generally used foul language. Almost with every other sentence he used the word Bloody. He particularly threatened to give the sarpanches and panches shoe beating, to which when Sarpanch of Ranian village stood up and objected the brigadier told him to shut up and sit down and gave the following most derogatory threat to quote him verbatim “You say that the militants are not under your control, We will kill all your youngmen, have your women folk brought to the Military camp and in front of your eyes outrage them and produce our children from them. Children (our progeny) thus produced will listen and obey their parents (us)”.
The Brig. also told them that nobody should be in any doubt about the presence and intentions of the army in this area. You should not be mis-lead by the statements of the Governor Punjab and Prime Minister of India saying that the army is here for exercises- they are telling lies. The Army is: here to sort out you people. They all expressed great resentment about the behavior of the Brigadier. A written complaint by the villagers about this incident was sent to Deputy Commissioner Amritsar with copies to Governor Punjab, Prime Minister and the President of India. Todate no one from the Government has visited the area to enquire into the , incident. This shows complete callousness and unconcern by the civil authority about his own people. All the persons the team met stated that Brig. R.P. Sinh had inadvertently divulged the true intention of the Government in deploying the army in the Punjab.
Pressure is now being put on them to hush up the incident and they are being terrorized. They even apprehend that army or other Government Agencies may eliminate them and their families or torture them to force them to sign some papers to cover up this whole thing so that rest of Indian people and the world do not get to know as to how the Indian Army is behaving with its own ‘people – the Sikhs in Punjab.
They all are feeling’ so humiliated and said it is better to die than to live in such disgrace.
A copy of the complaint sent by the Panches and Sarpanches and English version of their statements given to the P.H.R.O. team are attached herewith,
Maj. Gen. Narinder Singh (Retd)
Vice Chairman
Dr.Nrs. Sukhjeet Kaur -Gill
Vice Chairperson,
Mr. Jaspal Singh
Secretary
