The mother “disappears” after arrest

In the meantime a police party led by Inspector Jagjit Singh of Bholath Police Station and Sub-Inspector Dilbag Singh and Santokh Singh of Subhanpur Police Station raided his house in the early hours of June 191990 The police abducted his mother Bakhshish Kaur (42) from the house in presence of her near relatives and village elders. Jaspal Singh’s grandfather Darbara Singh (66): made frantic efforts to get his daughter-in-law released from the police clutches but all in vain. The grandfather lost his life on August 14 due to shock and humiliation that his daughter-in-law was in police detention and he could do nothing to secure her release.

Besides his mother several other relatives of Padda including his paternal uncles Surindesjit Singh (55) Sohan Singh (36) Gumam Singh and Samam Singh (90) and maternal uncle Harbans Singh (of Ambala Jattan village in Hoshiarppur district) and brother Satpal Singh (22) were picked up harassed and tortured by the police just to seek surrender of the KCF leader Bhai Padda. Satpal Singh in the meanwhile left home for Germany to save himself from the police oppression as he was badly tortured during his illegal police detention.

Even as the fate and whereabouts of his mother remained elusive Bhai Padda along with Mandip Singh and Rajbinder Singh was killed on April 13 in an alleged police encounter at a nearby village Jairampur.

PHRO headquarters received a letter in the month of February this year from the late Bhai Padda describing the incident of his mother’s abduction by the Bholath police. The organization failed to locate her despite its efforts The State authorities are adamant against entertaining such complaints. Bhai Padda’s brother Rajpal Singh the only member of his family now living in the village has lost all hope to see his mother. She might have been killed by the police by now said Rajpal Singh to the PHRO team.

It is not only the Punjab Government which does not come to the rescue of the victims but even the Punjab and Haryana High Court has also stopped treating as writs for habeas corpus telegrams received by it from parents and human rights groups seeking whereabouts and production in the court of the persons picked up by the police or the security forces. The Punjab and Haryana Bar Council at Chandigarh has so far failed to take up this issue with the Chief Justice of the High Court.

No relief for the victims

PHRO despite persistent attempts to establish whereabouts of a number of abducted persons during the month of April failed to get any relief. A few cases are worth mentioning. The organization sent telegrams to the Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court and Punjab Home Secretary seeking the release of production in the court of Jaswant Singh an Ex-Indian Air Force employee and Randhir Singh an employee of Punjab Roadways Nangal (both sons of Mahela Singh of Sudhar village in Ludhiana district) They were picked up by Faridkot police on April 1 from their village. The father and village panchayat in the meantime contacted the police to know their whereabouts. The police admitted that they had been abducted because their relative Manohar Singh Dheera an activist of the Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) had abducted Faridkot S.P.Kehar Singh’s son. The panchayat also wrote to Punjab Governor’ and Deputy Commissioner on April 8 affirming that Jaswant Singh and Randhir Singh had nothing to do with the K.L.F. activist Manohar Singh Dheera. A deputation led by advocate Om Parkash Attre met the Governor (General) Malhotra at Raikot on April 10 seeking the release of the “boys”. The Punjab Roadways Employees Union Nangal observed strike for several days. But the victims were subsequently released without as much as an apology.

Meanwhile over 300 panches and sarpanches of the villages demonstrated in front of Punjab Raj Bhavan on April 16 against repression unleashed on members of panchayats and disappearances of Sikh youths at the hands of the police. They met the Governor threatened to resign from the panchayats and sought the immediate release of hundreds of Sikh young men kidnapped by the police from different villages. They complained that they were often brought to the police stations and humiliated.

How the village mayors are treated?

Sarpanch Nahar Singh of Kukralla village explained how he along with former sarpanch and four others were picked up on April 5 by the police and taken to Garhi Interrogation Center and were tortured for three days. Similarly panch Piara Singh of Lakhanpur explained his story of harassment. The demonstration was led by Bharti Kisan Union (BKU) General Secretary Balbir Singh Rajewal.

The BKU leader explained yet another case to the Governor that the Panchayat of Nawin Jattan village produced a youth Balkar Singh before the police on April 6. DSP assured them that the boy would be released after investigations He was not released nor did the police disclose his whereabouts.

The Governor gave them patient hearing. The PHRO is head of the State. But there is no letup in operations against the Sikhs in Punjab.

The Sikhs are not allowed even to hold peaceful functions. About 1000 persons mostly members of the Sikh Students Federation the Akali Dal and sundry human rights activits were prevented from attending the proposed congregation to be organized at Khalsa College Amritsar on April 9 by the Sikh Students Federation (Buttar).

All entry points to the college were sealed by deploying a large number of security men. The people who tied to reach the venue were stopped at the gate and denied the entry. Several workers and leaders were detained and later let off. An unspecified number of federation workers in the college were rounded up to prevent the holding of the function.

The findings of the U S Congress on the human rights situation in India were indicative of the fact that the Government of India did not cooperate with international human rights organizations in their effort to conduct human rights investigations in the country. It limited their access to areas of conflict such as Punjab and Kashmir.

The Congress called upon the Government of India to take action to promote adherence to international human rights standards and to pursue “discussion and dialogue” with representatives of a broad spectrum of the populations of Punjab Kashmir and other areas of civil conflict in order to encourage a better understanding of grievances within those areas and to promote the process of political reconciliation.

Congressmen Dan Burton and Wally Herger were not without vocal supporters on the floor of the house. Democrat Congressman too blamed the Indian Government for resorting to violence to suppress dissent and separatism in Punjab and Kashmir. He quoted-a recent report by Congressional Research Service as saying that in Punjab and Kashmir “the centrally controlled paramilitary forces are generally composed of non-indigenous people who could be said to have little regard for the lives of the local people”.

Respect human rights Japan tells India

Despite all this India did not bother to clean up its record in human rights. That was probably the reason why Japan a political power backed up by its newly-acquired economic clout put up politico-military conditions including the one of respecting human rights before it gave aid to developing countries especially India. The Japan’s aid policy would highlight the importance of human rights.

A document on “Japan’s ODA (Official Development Assistance) in relation to military expenditure and other matters of developing countries” prepared by the Japanese government says that hereafter no country can take Japanese aid for granted. It may not be denied but “it has to be eared”.

Before deciding grant of aid Japan will pay full attention to conditions such as: (1)trend in an aid receiving country’s military expenditure (2)development and production of weapons of mass destruction by a recipient (3)trend in export and import of weapons by a recipient and (4)efforts made by an aid receiving country to democratize itself safeguard human rights and promote market economy. A note to this effect has been sent to governments receiving Japanese ODA including India PTI on May 2 reported from Tokyo.

Japan the largest economic aid giver to India

Japan’s aid policy until now was limited to the study of the economic and technical viability of a project for which ODA is sought. It never concerned itself with human rights military budget defence production or economic ideologies such as India’s mixed economy or the socialist pattern of economy. But now these things are going to be reviewed if the stated conditions are to be enforced.

The latest formulation says that Japan traditionally provides ODA to help developing countries meet the problems of poverty and famine as their development is essential to the peace and prosperity of the world. The political conditionality being enforced now is a post-Gulf was development which is expected to prepare Japan for a major political role in the new world order.

Japan is the largest provider of development funds to India. The PTI report revealed that the Indian government had been informed of the new aid conditions.

Not only that even the US State Department which until recently had been reluctant to speak out against India took note of the violation of human rights by the Indian security forces in its annual report (1990 Human Rights Reports February 1, 1991)

US State Dept. indicts security forces.

The report says “Over the four decades since India’s independence control of law. and order operations has moved increasingly under the Home Ministry This tendency stems in part from the rapid growth of the intelligence bureaus which function with little reference to the state governments and in part from the increased use of paramilitary forces against armed insurrectionists in disturbed areas. These forces are deployed in Kashmir Punjab and north eastern States. Both para-military and police forces have been responsible for significant human rights abuses”.

State and individual violence the report adds has taken 4987 lives during the year 1990 in Punjab, where militants are demanding a separate Sikh State, Khalistan, Exact numbers killed by either side cannot be determined. Press statistics showed the breakdown of deaths to be 3,261 civilians 467 security forces personnel 1194 militants and 65 persons the Government Claims crossed into from Pakistani.

According to the U.S report Sikh organizations continued to complain about the Government’s failure to prosecute those responsible for deaths of over 3000 Sikhs after Indira Gandhi’s assassination in 1984. On June 11990 the Home Ministry announced that the Government would expedite the disposition of 118 cases out of 225 pending before the courts. Of the 107 cases tried 11 ended in convictions of which 10 were for minor offences. Six people’s convicted of murder in the 11th case remained at large. Critics charged that the principal instigators of the anti-Sikh violence were protected from prosecution by their high political visibility and that none of those arrested were major figures in the mass killing of Sikhs.

Security forces are protected by special laws

Torture and cruel treatment or punishment is prohibited by law and confessions of information extracted by force may not be admitted in court. Significantly however under section 15 of the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) a confession made to a police officer is admissible in evidence. The frequent press accounts of police brutality in obtaining confessions from detainees under this law have fueled widespread criticism of police excesses the State Department report adds.

Indian press and human rights group continued to document allegations of torture and abuse of detainees by police including beatings burning with cigarettes suspension by the feet and electric shocks under the special powers given to the security forces they are not liable for prosecution for their actions in civil courts:

The judicial authorities in Punjab the report further states failed to bring to mal certain police offenders. In March 1990a Punjab and Haryana High Court judge ordered the release of three young men (Devinder Singh Pujari Rajinder Singh Pappu and Baj Singh Jago) held in detention for months by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Amritsar Punjab without reporting their detention to the judicial authorities. A High Court warrant officer was unable to get the judicial order enforced and youths were removed to another unknown location (India’s Secret Black-holes a PHRO report).

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