CHANDIGARH: The Human Rights groups in Punjab have jointly given a call for a rally, on Sept.28, to protest against the reported abduction of human rights general secretary of the Shiromani Akali Dal, Jaswant Singh Khalra, earlier this month.
Talking to media persons here, recently, the representatives of these groups alleged, that Jaswant Singh Khalra had been abducted from his house in Amritsar, on Sept. 6, at the behest of certain miscreants whom he wanted to expose.
They said that Khalra was associated with investigations which led to the exposure of a number of dead bodies of youth, who had been killed in illegal custody by the security forces, under the cover that they were unidentified or unclaimed. The Human Rights groups included Punjab Human Rights Organization (PHRO), Movement against State Repression (MASR) and Committee for Initiative and Information on Punjab.
Speaking on the occasion, Ajit Singh Bains, PHRO, said that a delegation had approached the authorities to either release him or put him under trial according to law.
He said that the protest rally had been organized as a purely human rights issue, irrespective of any political or religious affiliations. The rally would start at 11 am from the mini ‘secretariat and proceed towards the Punjab chief minister’s office.
The MASR was represented by Inderjit Singh Jaijee while Ram Narayan Kumar was present on behalf of the Committee for Initiative and Information on Punjab.
Article extracted from this publication >> September 29, 1995
