Where the 10 persons killed by the infamous Provincial Armed Constabulary of Uttar Pradesh at Pilibhit on July 13 terrorists as reported earlier, or were they pilgrims on their way to Hazoor Sahib in Maharashtra? Were they encounters, as claimed by the security forces, or was it yet another instance of terrorism by the state agencies? These grave questions are raised by a report in The Times of India giving details of the incidents in which 10 alleged militants were killed “in fierce encounters” in the forest areas of Pilibhit. According to the report, a group of local Sikhs had organized a pilgrimage to Hazoor Sahib, Patna Sahib and other religious places and had chartered a bus belonging to a local transporter. The police version spoke of three separate encounters on July 13 in which two so-called generals of militant organisations were killed along with eight others. It would be premature to dismiss the police version about the identity of the persons killed, but The Times of India report gives details which cast serious doubts about the occurrence of these “encounters”. The newspaper quotes eyewitnesses testifying to the police forces taking into custody men from the bus on pilgrimage on July 12 — a day before the “encounters” is stated to have taken place. The report points out that the police had asked all the family members of those killed on July 13 to leave the district, and that among those described as dreaded militants and killed was a 15-yearold boy. All these gory details need further verification and truth must be established.
Incidents such as these have over the years disfigured the face of Punjab and sustained violent militancy — a phenomenon that has consumed over 13,000 lives in the past nine years. It is absolutely essential to establish that the State’s forces do not indulge in crimes against innocent people even while engaged in ‘fighting the battle for preserving the nation’s unity and integrity. If the original police versions were true, the authorities should do everything to adduce evidence to support them. If the newspaper report, on the other hand, contains germs of truth but has been exaggerated, the U.P. government should promptly own the errors and punish the guilty. The most immediate duty of the state government is to assure the Sikhs in the region of complete protection and instill confidence among the people that the government would do everything to protect the lives and properties of the citizens. As for the so-called encounters, the latest Amnesty International report has also cited instances. Without in any way minimizing the arduous nature of the duties performed by the security forces, it must be stressed again that governments must ensure that encounters are not only not fake but also do not seem to be “fake”. Incidents such as what is reported to have happened at Pilibhit tend to nullify the good work and honest intentions of the government in Chandigarh engaged in fighting militancy on the ground in Punjab.
