The Ludhiana Senior Superintendent of police (SSP), Sumedh Saini, in a press conference on August 12, 1989 had claimed that Baldev Singh Ghudani and Kashmir Singh Nanowal were killed on previous night in an encounter near Jhamat Drain Bridge when they ambushed a police party led by Inspector Shiv Kumar Sharma of the ClA and Balbir Chand Tiwari, Station House Officer (SHO) Dehion, and that one AK-47 rifle and one .33 bore pistol had been recovered from the site.
Earlier, a news item appeared in The Tribune on August 9 that the ‘Khalistan Mukti Bahini’ General Baldev Singh. Ghudani was arrested along with Kashmir Singh from Kalar Majri village near Amloh on August 7. The Punjab Human Rights Organization also issued an appeal on August 11 demanding production of the arrested Sikh activists in court. The appeal appeared in a section of the press next morning.
After the story of the alleged encounter appeared in the press, a Punjab Human Rights Organization team comprising Gurbhajan Singh Gill, a retired Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), and advocate Mohinder Singh Grewal made an on-the-spot investigation of the matter. They met several persons and some relatives of the deceased.
Gurdish Kaur, sister of Kasmir Singh told the PHRO team that the police arrested both the youths on August 7 and thereafter their where-about were not disclosed. “I sent telegrams on August 9 to the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Punjab Governor and to the PHRO, seeking their intervention in the matter but to no avail”, she said adding that his brother was ultimately killed by the police in custody.
