GURDASPUR: What am I to do with this money? There’s no one left to spend it. Money will not bring back my sons,” Piara Singh (65) breaks into sobs as he says this sitting all alone in his deserted house in the fields outside the sleepy village. The money in question is a compensation of Rs 10 lakh announced by the Supreme Court on August 6 for the disappearance of his three sons, Nishan Singh (24), Sukhdev Singh (22) and who will spend it?

Jagjit Singh (20). They were reported to have been forcibly taken away from their home by the police on the night of December 7, 1992, and allegedly eliminated later. The casein the Supreme Court had been filed by the late Pritam Kaur, wife of Piara Singh.

“My three strapping sons were taken away by the police never to be returned, my wife died of a heart attack last year. What can this money buy me now?” he adds in a choked voice. News of the compensation came through newspapers to the old man, a marginal farmer, who lives a secluded life in a rambling house haunted by sad memories, “If the police had killed my sons, why were we not told of it? We went from one police officer to another for news of our boys. They had committed no crime. Nothing surfaced against them even in the CBI inquiry,” waits the inconsolable father. Recounting events of the desolate December 4th night, years ago. Piara Singh said that he was away to Ludhiana when his sons were taken away by the police. Piara Singh’s daughter identified that the police party was led by inspector Mangat Ram, SHO, Kapurthala.

On returning home the next day, Piara Singh, along with the village elders, met the then SSP at Gurdaspur, Samant Goel, and reported the matter to him. The police officer expressed ignorance about his sons. After that it was a long futile search approaching one police officer after another but getting no news of their boys.” We sold most of our land to fight a long legal battle against the police,” says Piara Sing Did the family have any militant links? The only link says Piara Singh was that one of his five married daughters was the wife of Rachhpal Singh, personal assistant to late Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. Rachhpal Singh had died during Operation Blue Star. “My daughter remarried someone at Chandigarh and never even visited us again,” he says. Fear accompanies his sorrow for he feels as the lone survivor of the family he could be an easy target for anyone with a vested interest.

Article extracted from this publication >>  August 14, 1996