CHANDIGARH India: The Tiwana Commission appointed by the Punjab government to look into the tortures of detainees of Ladha Kothi in Sangrur district after they were arrested from various gurdwaras during the Operation Bluestar, has recommended disciplinary action against 22 police officials.
Holding the state government equally responsible for the torture, Mr. CS, Tiwana a retired judge of Punjab and Haryana High Court also recommended monetary assistance ranging from Rs. 10,000 to Rs, 20,000 to each of the ninety detainees. The state government can recover the money from said police officials, the report says. The seventy seven page report which was submitted in May, 1986, and was to be tabled in the State Assembly within six months has not been made public yet. Six months period expired on November 30, last.
The report says that several Persons were arrested from the temple complex on June 6th, 1984. and they were not produced before any magistrate within the next 24 hours. The Government thought it better to detain them under national security act, Mr. Tiwana says that detainees were tortured at Ladha Kothi in an effort to connect them with a criminal offence when the government failed to connect many of the detainees with any criminal offence, they were charged with waging war against the state, he said in his report. Mr. Justice S.S. Sodhi of Punjab and Haryana High Court had visited the Nabba jail in 1984. Many of the detainees alleged that they were being tortured by the police after being shifted to Ladha Kothi in small batches. Mr. Justice ‘Sodhi had asked the district session judge of Patiala of Mr. LS. Chima to report on the matter and had in the meantime filed a writ petition on his own v/s his own secretary to the government of Punjab. Mr. Chima in his report to the High Court said that all the 90 detainees were shifted to Ladha Kothi in small batches for interrogation and were tortured. He had also mentioned the matters of torture quoting the detainees.
Mr, Tiwana has accused the Punjab government officers of not cooperating with the enquiry. No material witnesses were produced before him; Mr. Tiwana said that there was no reason for transferring the detainees were from Nabha jail to Ladha Kothi Interrogation could have been done in any of the jail room, Mr Ajit Kumar their special secretary filed an affidavit before the Commission saying that detainees indulging in an objectionable activity. Mr. Tiwana said that it appears from the affidavit that the detainees were to be tortured at a place where their cries of agony and pain could not be heard by anybody outside the premises of the torture.
Article extracted from this publication >> December 12, 1986
