Sikh Human Rights Abuses

Enforced Disappearances, Arbitrary Executions and Cremations:
Victim Testimony and India's Human Rights Obligations
Interim Report

Section 4
VICTIM TESTIMONY: ABSTRACT OF CASE STUDIES: TEN EXAMPLES

RELATIVES WHO EITHER COMMITTED SUICIDE OR DIED UNDER TRAUMA:
Case No. 1: Seventeen years old Sohan Singh Buttar from Dan Singh Wala village under Nehian Wala police station in Bhatinda district was picked up from his house on 29 January 1993 by a group of officers led by Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) Surjit Singh of Jaito police station in Faridkot district. Many villagers and the family members witnessed the abduction.
Station House Officer (SHO) of Jaito police station Nek Singh told Sohan's father Phoola Singh and other village elders, who went to him immediately, that the boy would be released after his interrogation. They were allowed to see Sohan in the police lock-up. Two days later, Phoola Singh accompanied by members of the village council went to the police station again to inquire. Again, they saw Sohan, who was in a bad shape from torture, in the lock up. When they asked ASI Ranjit Singh Sotha whether they could give him some food, which they had brought for him, the ASI started abusing them and asked them to go away. Ranjit Singh slapped Phoola Singh when he began to plead for his son's release. No one saw Sohan again.
Phoola Singh believes that his son was killed in a faked encounter staged on 29 February 93 along with Ranjit Singh Behla. He believes this on the basis of information that a constable at Jaito gave him informally.
Sohan's elder brother was so traumatized that he lost his mental balance and had to be treated by a psychiatrist Dr. Sukhwant Singh of Faridkot, who gave him electric shock treatment. The impact of the incident on Sohan's uncle Roop Singh was fatal. He committed suicide by consuming poison.

Case No. 2: Amarjit Singh, an electrician with the Punjab State Electricity Board, was from Jalal Usman village in Baba Bakala subdivision of Amritsar district. Amarjit was arrested from his office in Majitha on 14 September 1991, by SHO Pritpal Singh of Fatehgarh Churian police station. His colleague Santokh Singh first informed the family about the abduction.
The next day, one Shori Lal, son of Munshi Ram from Pabanrali village visited the family to tell them that he had seen Amarjit in the lock up of Fatehgarh Churian the previous night. Amarjit's father Arjan Singh went there and met his son. When he went to the police station again on 16 September 91, he was told that Amarjit had been transferred to the custody of DSP Dera Baba Nanak Baldev Singh Sekhon. When Arjan Singh went to DSP Baldev Singh Sekhon, he denied the custody.
Although no one from the family has seen Amarjit again, they maintain that he may be alive. They claim to have received a message from him in the first week of October, which suggested that he was being held at Chakri Bazar police station in Batala, and once again a year and a half later from Sadar police station, also called B Division Police Station, in Amritsar. However, the message bearers, police constables in fact, refused to divulge more information from the fear that their superior officers would victimize them. A complaint of Amarjit's disappearance was recorded by DSP Rachhpal Singh of Majitha police as a FIR No. 335 DC on 8 July 97.
Amarjit's younger brother Nirmal Singh had also been picked up from his house by the Majitha police and tortured brutally in illegal custody. Nirmal died three months after his release on bail. Amarjit's wife Ranjit Kaur wants a thorough inquiry so that she may know whether her husband is alive or dead.

Case No. 3: Twenty-one years old Manmohan Singh was an Ayurvedic doctor who lived at D-127, Thermal Colony, Bhatinda. Manmohan had his clinic in the town.
As a baptized Sikh, he used to take active part in the Sikh religious activities, but had no political connections. However, his fervent religiosity brought him under suspicion and on 2 December 91, he was picked up from a relative's house at village Chuhar Chak by Mehna police in Moga. Manmohan was thrashed for a week under intense questioning to be eventually released at the intervention from the village elders.
On 10 May 92, Manmohan's father Ranjit Singh went to his son's clinic with lunch for him. Around 1:30 p.m., a team of police officers led by SHO Kahan Singh of Paras Ram Nagar police post raided the clinic and took Manhoman into custody. Inspector Sukhdev Singh Chahal and several other police officials were along with the SHO who told Ranjit Singh that his son would be released after interrogation. On his scooter, Ranjit Singh followed the police vehicle until it reached the Kotwali police station. Later that evening, he led a delegation to Inspector Sukhdev Singh Chahal who said that Manmohan Singh had been detained by the SSP's orders. The delegation met the SSP to ask if Manmohan was in his custody and what he proposed to do with him. The SSP answered them evasively. A habeas corpus petition before the High Court, filed by Ranjan Lakhanpal, yielded no results.
On a later date, SSP Anil Kumar Sharma told Ranjit Singh that he should carry out the last rites. This indicated that Manmohan had been killed and his body disposed of in some clandestine manner.
His maternal aunt Baljit Kaur who had brought him up in the childhood could not bear the news and died under trauma.

Case No. 4: Twenty-four years old Ranjit Singh alias Kala, a clean shaven Sikh from village Bhambri under Khamano police station of Fatehgarh Sahib district was a day laborer who supported his parents and three younger brothers from his meager wages. Unconnected with any political or militant activity, he had no previous police record. Ranjit was unmarried.
Early in the morning of 10 July 1991, armed policemen led by ASI Balvir Singh, the Station House Officer of Bhadson police station, raided the house. The family was still sleeping. The policemen manhandled everyone, particularly Ranjit and his younger brother Pritpal before taking them away to Bhadson police station. At the police station, the brothers were segregated. Pritpal Singh was questioned under torture, but was allowed to return home the next morning. Ranjit did not return home, nor was he seen or heard of again. On 13 July 91, the daily Ajit carried a news which said that Ranjit was killed in cross firing between unidentified militants and team of police officers who were taking him to recover arms. His father Swaran Singh along with village elders went to the Bhadson police station to ask for the dead body. But the abusive officials shooed them away and the family could not find out where, when, how and by whom Ranjit got cremated.
The police raided the house once again on 17 July, ostensibly to search for weapons. Swaran Singh realized that the police could easily pick up his other sons and kill them too, if he spoke out about Ranjit. So, he decided to keep quiet but could not reconcile with the injustice of the situation and died from grief one year after the incident.

Case No. 5: Fifty-five years old Santokh singh was a small farmer from Village Behla under Tarn Taran city police station in Amritsar district. He was married to Surjit Kaur with three grown up children; two twenty-eight and twenty-six years old sons and one twenty-four years old daughter. His youngest son Sukhdev Singh Ladi had joined the ranks of militants and had been killed in a supposed armed encounter with the police, reported to have taken place some time in 1992 near their own village. The police harassment of the family became very intense after this incident.
In February 1993, SHO Narinder Singh Malhi of Police station Doburji in Amritsar picked up Santokh and his son Kuldip, who was employed by the Punjab Electricity Board. Few days after the abduction, the head of the village council of Sanghna was able to persuade the SHO Malhi to release Kuldip. But the SHO demanded a bribe of Rs. 50,000 for Santokh's release. The family was not able to raise this money, and Santokh was taken away to the CIA interrogation Center at Tarn Taran.
Santokh was seen alive for the last time at the CIA interrogation Center in Tarn Tarn in March 1993 when Amrik Singh, son of Gurmej Singh from Behla village went there, along with Malook Singh, a member of the village council, to persuade SSP Ajit Singh Sandhu to release him. The SSP said that Santokh's interrogation was still continuing. They went back to the SSP few weeks later, when the SSP said that he had already released Santokh. For the next five months, the family continued to receive messages about his being alive from the relatives of others detained likewise illegally at the CIA interrogation center. The messages stopped coming after five months.
In this period, the police had several times raided the house ostensibly to search for weapons, but only confiscating valuable household things: Furniture, electric motors used to irrigate fields, and the harvested paddy from nine acres of land. The loss of property from these confiscations is estimated at approximately Rs. 100,000.
Santokh Singh's wife Surjit Kaur had lost her mental balance after her youngest son Sukhdev had been killed in a supposed police encounter.
Santokh's mother Preetam Kaur did not survive the shock of her son's disappearance. First, she remained under the impression that her son Santokh Singh would come back. She became disillusioned when members of the family held a religious ceremony to commemorate his death after a police officer informally told them that Santokh Singh was not alive. After the cermony, she began to hysterically lament. Preetam Kaur then decided to donate all the personal belongings of Santokh Singh, including his clothes, to a Gurudwara. After completing the donation, Preetam Kaur resumed her fatal lamentation, always repeating the words "the police have killed my innocent son". So lamenting, Preetam Kaur collapsed and died.

Case No. 6: Forty years old Nirmal Singh, a small farmer from Hothian village under Goindwal police station in Khadoor Sahib subdivision of Amritsar district, was elected head his village council. He was married to Gurbinder Kaur and had five children. Two sons, Lakhbir Singh and Sarabjit Singh are twenty-two and forteen years old. Three daughters, Daljit Kaur, Davinder Kaur and Harbarinder Kaur are eighteen, sixteen and twelve years old. Nirmal Singh's father Mohan Singh and mother Dhan Kaur also lived with them in village Hothian.
On 25 October 1992 afternoon, ASI Balbir Singh from the police post of Fatehabad raided Nirmal Singh's village house and took him into illegal custody. The same day, all the other members of the village council, including Ram Kaur, her husband Gurdeep Singh, another woman member of the council Dalbir Kaur and her husband Makhan Singh, members Avtar Singh and Balwinder Singh, along with the family members met the DSP of Goindwal who admitted the custody and promised to release Nirmal Singh after his interrogation. Nirmal Singh was held for interrogation at police post of Fatehabad where the family members were allowed to see him.
Nirmal Singh was being interrogated along with Rashpal Singh from village Bhoian and Gurdeep Singh, son of Wasan singh, also of village Hothian. Nirmal Singh was seen in this police post for the last time on 14 November 1992.
When the family members came thereafter to meet Nirmal Singh, the policemen at Fatehabad post refused to let them in. They went on to meet DSP Bhupinder Singh of Goindwal and SSP Ajit Singh Sandhu of Tarn Taran several times to beseech help. But they neither helped nor gave any information. It is not clear what happened to Nirmal Singh. The family assumes that he was killed in custody and his body disposed of in a clandestine manner.
Nirmal Singh's mother Dhann Kaur could not bear the shock of his disappearance and died after some time. Wife Gurbinder Kaur, who has sent this complaint, also claims that a former police constable Dalbir Singh, son of Kapoor Singh from Patti Gurmukhan Di in Khadoor Sahib also disappeared and got killed around the same time.
Subsequently, a newspaper report claimed that the CBI was pursuing the case and had registered a case against the officials responsible for Nirmal Singh's abduction. But the outcome of the CBI investigation and the case registered by them is not known.
Case No. 7: Sixty years old Balbir Kaur from Thande village under the post office of Jwala Flour Mill with the Sadar police station of Amritsar district was the mother of Karaj Singh Thande, a known militant. Her husband Makhan Singh was a factory worker and earned Rs. 2000. Apart from thirty years old Karaj Singh, who was killed in a supposedly faked armed encounter with the police, they had two more sons, thirty-five years old Joginder Singh and thirty-two years old Balwinder Singh. Twenty eight years old Bhajan Kaur was their youngest daughter.
In reaction to the army operation against the Golden Temple in June 1984, Karaj Singh had taken to arms and had become a fugitive. Since then the police used to regularly raid the house and harass all the members of the family, particularly mother Balbir Kaur, for information on his whereabouts. Several times, they had been held illegally and tortured. The police also confiscated all the valuable things in the house. They also took away agricultural implements and tube-well motors. The loss of these confiscations is estimated at Rs. 135,000.
The police raids did not cease. On 24 February 1987, one ASI from Sadar police station of Amritsar, known as Pappu Bajwa, raided the house along with a large team of constables. The police searched the house and interrogated the family members about Karaj Singh. They could not tell much.
ASI Bajwa then started to abuse Balbir Kaur and when she protested shot her dead in front of all the other members of the family. The killing was later explained away as the result of an encounter.
The incident effected Balbir Kaur's husband Makhan Singh very deeply. He died some time later from the grief and the shock of his wife's murder.

Case No. 8: Thirty-five years old Baldev Singh was a farmer from Patti Bhan ki in Kairon village under Patti subdivision of Amritsar district. Baldev Singh had studied upto the higher secondary school. He was married to Narinder Kaur with one daughter Sukhpreet who is now five years old. His seventy-five years old father Jagir Singh and mother Charan Kaur, seventy, also lived in the same house.
Baldev was himself unconnected with militant political activities. But his brother Gurbaksh had reacted with great emotion to the army operation against the Golden Temple and had presumably taken to arms after becoming a fugitive in late 1984. He was subsequently killed supposedly in an armed encounter with the police. For this reason, the police began to raid the house and harass the family members to find out Gurbaksh's whereabouts. Baldev had also been illegally arrested and tortured in custody for information.
On 24 November 1992, Baldev along with his wife Narinder Kaur, and his cousin Amarjit Singh, went to his sister Kuldeep Kaur's house in the Radha Swami colony in Fazilka. Early in the morning of 25th November, around 5 a.m., a police force led by Naurang Singh, incharge of Kairon police post, raided Kuldeep Kaur's house after scaling the walls. The police force was accompanied by Kulwant Singh, son of Mewa Singh from Sau Ki Patti in village Kairon who had known that Baldev Singh had gone to his sister's village. At the time of the raid, Kuldeep Kaur, her husband Jeet Singh and their minor children were also present in the house.
Both Baldev and Amarjit were immediately nabbed. Naurang Singh tied their hands to their backs and forced them into a vehicle before driving away. Baldev's wife Narinder Kaur along with her brother-in-law went back to Kairon in a taxi to inform the family about the arrests.
The same afternoon, the members of the village council and other elders including Sarpanch Kashmira Singh, one advocate from Patti known as Tipu, Saroop Singh Gill, an employee of the Punjab Roadways, Mahinder Singh, Baldev's father Jagir Singh and several other relatives met Naurang Singh, incharge of Kairon police post. Naurang Singh told them that Amarjit Singh and Baldev Singh would be released after their interrogation.
Over the next five days, the relatives and other village elders visited Naurang Singh and DSP Kashmir Singh a number of times to plead for their release. Baldev's wife Narinder Kaur was allowed to see him in the lock up of Kairon police post briefly. However, they were not allowed to talk.
Naurang Singh demanded a payment of Rs. 200,000 for the release of Amarjit and Baldev. The family managed to raise Rs. 135,000, which was handed over to Naurang Singh. Meanwhile, both Amarjit and Baldev had been brutally tortured in the custody. The information was conveyed to the family by local police constables that their condition was serious.
After paying the bribe of Rs. 135,000 to Naurang Singh on 30 November 1992, the family persuaded him to allow a private doctor to examine them. Naurang Singh also assured them that both Baldev and Amarjit would be released the following day.
Early next morning, the family received the message from an acquaintance that the police had taken their dead bodies for post mortem to the Patti Civil hospital. All the women relatives, including Narinder Kaur, immediately rushed to the hospital, which had been cordoned off by a large number of policemen under Naurang Singh. When they tried to enter the hospital, the policemen beat them up on orders from Naurang Singh. They were forced to go back.
Two Punjabi newspapers, Ajit and Punjab Kesri dated 2 December 92, reported that the police had killed two militants in an armed encounter. One of them was identified as Amarjit Singh belonging to the Panjwar group of the Khalistan Commando Force and the other militant killed was called unidentified.
The next day, the family members went to the Patti cremation ground where they found the half burnt bodies of Baldev Singh and Amarjit Singh on separate pyres. They purchased more wood and arranged for their proper cremation. The following day, they went back to collect the ashes.
Some days later, the family organized the last religious rite of giving a feast, when the police again surrounded their house and did not allow anyone except the close relatives to attend.
Naurang Singh never returned the bribe of Rs. 135,000, which he received from the family on 30 November 1992 evening to release Baldev and Amarjit unharmed.
The incident left a deep impression on Baldev's mother Charan Kaur, who has become mentally unstable.
His father Jagir Singh also took to bed and died in 1996 after his second son Sukhwinder Singh, Baldev Singh's younger brother, was killed in 1996 reportedly by a police agent. Sukhwinder was also married with two young daughters and one son.
Charan Kaur, who has become mentally disturbed, finds it hard to look after all the widows and their children.
Baldev's younger brother Gurbaksh Singh who had become a fugitive after the Operation Blue Star, and had also been killed in a supposed armed encounter, was unmarried.

Case No. 9: Twenty-five years old Dalbir Singh was a small farmer who along with his father Sardool Singh, mother Gopal Kaur, his wife Satwant Kaur and their two young daughers Varinder Kaur and Satinder Kaur, now fifteen and twelve, lived in village Varpal under Jandiala police station in Tarn Taran subdivision of Amritsar district.
On 4 June 1984, Dalbir's elder brother Lakhvir Singh had been arrested from the house on suspicion of his links with Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. Lakhvir never returned and his whereabouts remain unknown. Over the next years, the police continued to raid the house, damaging the property and holding Dalbir and other members of the family for interrogation under torture.
Very early in the morning of 4 July 1986, Jandiala police raided Dalbir's house once again and abducted him in front of all the relatives.
The same evening, he was shown to have been killed in an armed encounter. The next days newspapers carried the news.
The police continued to raid the house, and confiscated all the valuables, including the household things, jewellery, the irrigation motors from the fields, furniture, even utensils and bedding. The police also did not allow the family to cultivate its agricultural land. The value of confiscated property and other damages from the raids are estimated at Rs. 300,000.
Nineteen months after Dalbir's abduction and his reported killing in an encounter, on 5 February 1988, the police again raided the house to pick up Dalbir's father Sardool Singh. He also disappeared. Nothing is known of his whereabouts.
Dalbir's mother Gopal Kaur could not bear the shock of these tragedies and died from a heart-attack on 8 October 1988, eight months after her husband's disappearance.
Dalbir Singh's widow Satwant Kaur, who has sent this complaint, claims that Gopal Kaur had herself suffered torture in custody, resulting in her death.

Case No. 10: Dalbir Singh was a farmer living in village Khela under Goindwal police station in Tarn Taran subdivision of Amritsar district. He was married to Lakhwinder Kaur with two sons and two daughters. His sons Gurinderpal and Amandeep are now twenty and thirteen years old. Daughers Sharanjit and Ramandeep are eighteen and fifteen. His parents, Jassa Singh and Gurdeep Kaur also lived with them in the same house.
Dalbir, a baptized Sikh and an old member of the Sikh Students Federation, had been a politically active person. He had become locally popular as the Secretary of the Fatehabad Cooperative Society, a position he had taken in 1975.
After the Operation Blue Star, Dalbir was very vocal in protesting against the "army invasion". In 1985, Sub-Inspector Anokh Singh of Fatehabad police post abducted Dalbir from his house and after his illegal interrogation under torture sent him to jail on a trumped up charge of indulging in arson. When he applied for release on bail, the government arrested him under the National Security Act. But the NSA was withdrawn three months later, and Dalbir came out of jail on bail.
After his release, Dalbir decided to shift to Jalandhar where he opened a dairy farm. The business was successful, so he remained occupied. The police also did not come to arrest him again for the next three years.
In 1988, SSP Gobind Ram of Batala police district led a force to raid Dalbir's house in Baldev Singh Colony in Jalandhar. On that day, one friend of Dalbir named Kanwaljit Singh, alias Waheguru, from Gurdsaspur was visiting him. Dalbir's wife Lakhwinder and their children Gurinderpal, then 12 years, Sharanjit Kaur, 10 years, Ramandeep Kaur, 8 years and Amandeep, then 6 years were also home.
The police under Gobind Ram's instructions started torturing Dalbir Singh, his wife Lakhwinder and their friend Kanwaljit right there in the house to demand the weapons they had supposedly hidden. But the thorough search yielded nothing. Gobind Ram took all the three into custody. The four young children, who were continuously screaming while their parents were being tortured in their presence, were left alone to fend for themselves. The three prisoners were taken to Beeco joint interrogation center in Batala and tortured. Lakhwinder was released after three days. Kanwaljit was killed in custody, but a newspaper report said that he died in an armed encounter.
Dalbir was arrested under TADA and sent to Amritsar jail. Again, he managed to come out on bail and returned to his dairy farm business in Batala. In 1989, Dalbir singh's father Jassa Singh died. Following this, Dalbir closed down the business in Jalandhar and returned to his village to look after his agricultural farm. The police never harassed him until the beginning of 1992 when Dalbir had an altercation with the owner of a pesticide shop in Fatehabad, who happened to be a relative of ASI Tarlochan Singh Walia.
After this incident, the police from Fatehabad, Goindwal and Tarn Taran began to raid Dalbir's house again. Fearing torture and murder in custody, Dalbir began to stay away from the house. But the police kept up the pressure by repeatedly arresting and torturing his relatives. His younger brother Balkar was repeatedly tortured very severely, and asked to produce his brother before the police.
During one of the frequent raids, the police also damaged the house, breaking all the widow panes, other household things and demolishing the kitchen. The family estimates the value of the destroyed property to be more than Rs. 30,000.
In June 1992, ASI Dalbir Singh, in-charge of Fatehabad police post, abducted Balkar Singh again and brutally tortured him to find out Dalbir's whereabouts. Unable to suffer the torture, Balkar Singh revealed that his brother was staying with his in-laws in Fatehpur Badeshan.
Early next morning, a police force under ASI Dalbir Singh, accompanied by Balkar Singh, raided the house of Dalbir's in-laws. It was 4:30 in the morning and every one was sleeping. The police scaled the walls of the house to go inside. Dalbir was taken into custody in front of his wife, his father-in-law Gurbakhsh Singh, mother-in-law Swaran Kaur, his brother-in-law Nirmal Singh and his wife Paramjit Kaur.
Dalbir and his brother Balkar were taken back to Fatehabad police post where Surinderpal Singh, SHO of Goindwal police station, supervised Dalbir's torture. Balkar was locked up in a separate room.
After some time, Balkar was taken out of the lock up into the courtyard of the police post. Dalbir, who had been chained to a tree and also handcuffed, was profusely bleeding. ASI Dalbir Singh asked Balkar to say his final good-bye to his elder brother, and taunted him to find out where his brother wanted the memorial of his martyrdom built.
Dalbir remained defiant and told the ASI, who was continuously hitting him with a rod, to do whatever he wanted. Later that evening, ASI Dalbir Singh released Balkar after instructing him to come back with Rs. 60,000 within some hours if he cared to see his brother alive.
Balkar himself was in a critical condition from his torture. He went back to the village and fell down on a cot outside a neighbor's house. He was unable to speak from exhaustion, physical pain and mental anguish.
Some hours later, SHO Surinderpal Singh and ASI Dalbir Singh again raided the house and informed the family members that Dalbir had escaped from their custody. They arrested his mother Gurdeep Kaur, his sister Darshan Kaur and her father-in-law Darshan Singh and brought them all to Fatehabad police post.
Another group of police officers went to Fatehpur Badeshan village to arrest Dalbir's in-laws. His brother-in-law's wife Raramjit Kaur, his sisters-in-law Rajwinder Kaur and Kuldeep Kaur and her husband Narinder Singh were brought to Fatehabad police post. There, all of them were beaten up, Gurbaksh Singh most severely. They were released two days later at the intervention of Colonel Mukhtiar Singh, Lakhwinder Kaur's maternal uncle.
A report published in Ajit and Jagbani on 5 October 1992 said that a militant named Dalbir Singh had been killed in an armed encounter with the police near village Behla on 3 October.
After reading the news report, Balkar Singh along with some village elders went to Tarn Taran city police station where they met SHO Gurbachan Singh Manochahal to find out if the report concerned his brother. SHO Manochahal showed him Dalbir's identity card and asked him to go back and perform the last religious rites.
It was now established that Dalbir Singh had been killed. Balkar Singh went back home and let all the family members know. His mother immediately fainted. The last rites were performed. Mother Gurdeep Kaur was unable to recover from the trauma and died in 1996, after remaining mentally unbalanced for three and a half years.

RELATIVES DO NOT KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO DEAD BODIES:
Case No. 1: Baldev Singh, 25 years old Majhabi Sikh and a casual laborer, was married with three children.
On 6 July 1990, Baldev Singh along with his wife and his father went to village Pahuwind to call on his in-laws. That day Bhikhiwind police along with CRPF units raided the village and rounded up all unidentified young men at the village Gurudwara for screening. Baldev was one of them. The entire village, including the headman of the village council, witnessed the operation. The police force was being led by Paramdeep Singh Teja, DSP.
Baldev was detained at police station Bhikhiwind where his wife Salwinder Kaur visited him a few times until 10 July 90 and even brought him food. Thereafter, she and her father-in-law were not allowed to see Baldev. Telegrams were sent to all relevant authorities, but to no effect. Since then Baldev Singh's whereabouts are not known.
The family believes that he got killed and his body cremated or disposed of in some other way illegally. But there is no evidence. Salwinder cried while stating the dilemma that she did not know whether to consider herself a widow or not. She resents having become a burden on her parents.
Salwinder's young children have become laborers to survive. She asks: "What more mental and physical agony I should suffer? I do not know whether my husband is alive or dead? My children have become slaves? Don't you consider child labor to be suffering?"
Salwinder Kaur lives at village Pahuwind, near Baba Daya Singh Gurdwara under Patti subdivision of Amritsar district.

Case No. 2: Eighteen years old Kuldip Singh had only finished his primary school. He came from a poor family of village Fatehabad under Khadoor Sahib subdivision of Amritsar district, which sustained itself by running a small eatery stall. It was a family of devout baptized Sikhs.
Once, towards the end of year 1990, SHO of Goindwal police station Tarlochan Singh Walia came to the house to look for Kuldip, who was not home. His parents, suspecting trouble, shifted his residence to his maternal uncle's house in Moga. The police regularly raided the house and routinely picked up his parents, who were then held illegally and pressurized to surrender Kuldip.
Kuldip was home when early morning of 8 April 91 a group of policemen comprising Head Constable Tarlochan Singh, constables Pargat Singh and Buta Singh raided the house. The police team took Kuldip and his younger brother Hardip Singh into custody and went away with them. His father Nand Singh along with village elders went to Fatehabad police post to make inquiries. ASI Channan Singh said that both would be interrogated about suspected militant links. Later that evening, Hardip was released. He had been severely tortured; also instructed to keep silent about his experiences. For the next ten days, the family did not hear anything about Kuldip except some rumors that he had already been killed. But constable Harnek Singh reported that Kuldip was being interrogated by Goindwal police. The SHO of Verowal police station confirmed this. In the beginning, SHO Tarlochan Singh Walia of Goindwal police station denied the custody, but later demanded a bribe of Rs. 15,000 to release him. After receiving the money, SHO Walia asked the family members to reach SSP Sandhu's house where they were told that Kuldip would reach home the same evening.
Kuldip did not return home. The family now believes that he has been killed and his dead body secretly disposed of. Kuldip's mother Darshan Kaur, who has sent this complaint, was so traumatized that she had to be treated at Amritsar Mental Hospital and later at Pathankot.

Case No. 3: Twenty-one years old Sukhwant Singh alias Sukha was trained to be an electrician, but later became an apprentice driver under his father who owned a truck. He was a baptized Sikh who wore the traditional five symbols, including the mandatory 'kirpan' (a small symbolic sword), conspicuously.
On 28 April 92 morning, when Sukhwant and his father Kashmira Singh were returning to their village after reporting at the Truck Union's office at Goindwal, they were stopped at a police check post that had been set up at the railway crossing outside Goindwal. The policemen at the check post, led by SHO Goindwal Surinderpal Singh, became suspicious of Sukhwant after seeing his yellow turban and his ritual 'kirpan' that he was wearing on the outside. The police ordered Sukhwant to get into their Maruti jeep and ordered his father to go away. Kashmira had no option. He saw the police jeep go towards Fatehabad.
Back in the village, Kashmira reported the incident to the village elders who went to Goindwal police station where they saw Surinderpal who, however, denied having taken Sukhwant into custody. Kashmira became very agitated, but SHO Surinderpal Singh abused him and forced him and other village elders to go away. The next day, Kashmira and his wife Jasvir Kaur went to the SSP's office at Tarn Taran who met them only to announce that their son was a hardcore militant and that they should not expect mercy. They went on pleading and touched SSP AS Sandhu's feet. The SSP got them physically thrown out of his office. Later with help from a sympathetic policemen they went to the CIA staff interrogation center and bribed an officer there to see Sukhwant who was in a bad shape from physical torture. Sukhwant told them that they should pay any amount of money demanded by the officers. Otherwise, he would be killed.
Kashmira and Jasvir met their son for the last time on 4 May 92. Thereafter, there has been no authentic news about his whereabouts. Local rumours, informally supported by policemen, suggest that Sukhwant has been killed. But the parents remain uncertain. Mother Jasvir and her daughter Nirmal Kaur suffered serious mental shock. Father has become a drug addict. He cannot do any work and cannot sleep. The family lives at Village Lohar under Police Station Sarhali in Khadoor Sahib subdivision of Amritsar district.

Case No. 4: Twenty-six years old Ranjit Singh from Mangat Kaler village under Majitha police station in Amritsar was a helper in the Punjab roadways. He was unmarried.
Early morning of 12 September 92, a team of police officers picked him up from the outskirts of his village. The police officials informed his father Sewa Singh, who was with Ranjit when the abduction occurred, that they were taking him to SSP AS Sandhu for interrogation.
On 13 September, Sewa Singh met the SSP who said that his son Ranjit would be released after interrogation. On 19 September 92, some police officials brought Ranjit to his house which was searched. Nothing incriminating was recovered. However, as Ranjit had still not been released, Sewa Singh filed a petition for the habeas corpus before the High Court that was listed for hearing on 1 March 93. The petition was dismissed after DSP Majitha, Raj Kumar swore an affidavit to say that Ranjit was not taken into custody and that he was not even wanted in connection with any investigation. Sewa Singh continued to pursue the matter by sending petitions to the higher authorities of the State government, including the Governor, pleading for an inquiry and the production of his son. But they did not respond.
Sewa Singh has since been mentally deranged. He does not believe a report in daily Ajit of 22 September 92, which said that Ranjit was killed in an "encounter". He maintains that his son is still under clandestine detention.

Case No. 5: Kashmir Singh, a young unmarried farmer, was the only bread winner in the family from Sathiala village under Beas police station in Amritsar district. His sixty-five years old parents and two unmarried sisters were completely dependent on him for their livelihood.
On 29 August 92, a police team led by DSP Amar Singh Chahal from Kapurthala district and SHO CIA staff Kapurthala Joginder Singh Ghora and Tirath Ram also of Kapurthala CIA staff raided the house and took Kashmir away in front of his entire family including his parents and two sisters. Parents and the village elders went to Kapurthala and met DSP Chahal a number of times. Chahal kept on making empty promises that he would release Kashmir after interrogation.
Basic poverty did not allow Kashmir's family members to follow up the case for his release. A lawyer in Amritsar suggested that they go to Chandigarh to file a petition before the High Court. But they did not have the money to travel. Psychologically wrecked, they have given in to the inevitable. No one knows what happened to Kashmir, whether he is alive or dead and, if dead, how and where his body got cremated.

Case No. 6: Kashmir Singh Bhullar, a forty-two years old farmer, married, with four young children, lived at House No. 102, 9th Street in Jagdambe Colony under Vijay Nagar police Station in Amritsar district. Kashmir and his brother Dayal Singh owned a dairy farm with thirty buffaloes, which brought them a substantial income of 20,000 rupees a month. They were baptized Sikhs, very devout, but otherwise uninvolved in any kind of politics. They had never been arrested earlier.
On 3 November 1990 morning, a group of uniformed policemen from B. R. Model School Interrogation Center raided the house and took Kashmir into custody. They had already arrested Sukhchain Singh of Nehru colony in Amritsar. Dayal Singh requested SI Balbir Singh, in-charge of the Interrogation Center and an acquaintance, to help. Finding out that the police wanted to arrest him also, Dayal stayed away from the house that night. In his absence, the police took away his wife and her brother Balwinder Singh to the interrogation center. Fearing that they might get tortured, Dayal turned himself in. On his surrender, his wife and brother-in-law were released.
Few hours later, Dayal was taken for interrogation to a room in which Kashmir, Sukhchain and Resham Singh alias Pappu of Jagdambe Colony in Amritsar were being interrogated. They were all handcuffed and shackled. SI Balbir was himself leading the interrogation. He asked them about Dayal's involvement in militant activities. All the three said that they did not know anything. Apparently unsatisfied with the answer, the Sub-Inspector started physically torturing Dayal to compel his confession. After some time, he was shackled and left in that room along with others. Dayal observed that Sukhchain's physical condition from torture was bad. He also noticed that both Kashmir and Resham had also been tortured, although less severely. All four were held in that room for the next eighteen days in the course of which they used to be separately taken out to another room and interrogated under severe torture. Dayal alone was spared torture.
On 22 November 90, Dayal and Resham were separated from the rest, blindfolded and transferred to another location, which they later found out to be the "B" Division police station in Amritsar. Four other young men, whom they did not know, were already detained in the cell. After four days, Dayal and the other four in the cell were framed in a TADA case and produced before a magistrate, who committed them to the high security prison in Amritsar. Meanwhile, SI Balbir had been transferred from the BR Model School to the "B" Division Police Station. Chaudhary Gurmeet Chand had taken over the charge of the Interrogation Center. Dayal could not find out what happened to his brother Kashmir and the other prisoner Resham Singh who had also been to B Division police station. His father-in-law Jaswant Singh came to the jail to tell him that his wife Manjit Kaur and her brother Balwinder Singh had also been framed under TADA on charges of sheltering terrorists. Ninety days later, Dayal, his wife and his brother-in-law were released on bail when the prosecution failed to submit a charge-sheet.
Dayal persuaded his father-in-law to talk to SI Balbir to find out what happened to Kashmir. SI Balbir told him that he had been formally arrested and held in prison, either at Hissar or Sirsa jail. Along with his sister and other relatives, Dayal went to Hissar jail. There was a prisoner named Kashmir Singh, but his father's name did not match and the prison officials refused their application for an interview. Dayal got back to SI Balbir who suggested that they try to find him in Sirsa jail. In that jail there was nobody under the name of Kashmir Singh. They also went to Nabha jail. Again, there was no prisoner under that name. Their investigations had come to a dead end. SI Balbir Singh refused to entertain further inquiries. Kashmir Singh's whereabouts remain unknown. No one has seen him after 22 November 90.
Dayal had to sell off all the buffaloes of his dairy farm to sustain the efforts to locate his brother and to pursue the legal cases that had been framed against him and his family members. He also had the responsibility to marry off two daughters of his missing brother. Once prosperous family is now pauperized. His mother Sant Kaur had assumed that Kashmir Singh was also in prison. After Dayal's release, she found out that his whereabouts are unknown. She could not take the shock and died from grief a month later.

Case No. 7: Thirty years old Kulwant Singh, alias Kanta, was a constable with the Home Guards, and was posted at Police Post Khuali in Tarn Taran subdivision of Amritsar. He was married with a small child and lived with his parents at Burj 169, Raja Taal, under police station Sarai Amanat Khan of Tarn Taran subdivision in Amritsar district.
29 Noember 92 noon, soon after Kulwant left his house to report on duty, ASI Balkar Singh Chheena and Inspector Dharam Singh of Khuali police post came to the house to tell his mother Balbir Kaur that her son had deserted his post along with his rifle. They took her and her second son Harpal Singh into custody as hostages to compel Kulwant to turn in. Balbir Kaur got in touch with Kulwant and made him surrender to ASI Kashmir Singh, incharge of police post Sarai Amanat Khan. Several village elders were present when Kashmir Singh took him into custody.
Kulwant disappeared. The family members tried to find out about his fate by repeatedly approaching the officials at Sarai Amanat Khan and Lopoke police stations who said that Kulwant got transferred to Mal Mandi Interrogation Center for questioning. Attempts to meet the concerned officials of the Interrogation Center remained unsuccessful. The mother sent several petitions to senior officials in the State government, including the Chief Minister and the IG, Border Range, beseeching them to help. But there was no response. Balbir Kaur, however, believes that her son is alive and held incommunicado. Kulwant's wife left the house after her three years old son died from neglect.

Case No. 8: Kesar Singh, alias Bapu, was a forty-five years old religious Sikh, who engaged in organizing voluntary work for the Gurudwaras, Sikh temples. He was married with four grown up children and lived in village Pandori Rehmana under Jhabal police station of Tarn Taran subdivision of Amritsar district.
In the past, the police used to routinely take him into illegal custody during search operations and torture him for information on his suspected terrorist links. In June 1992, he was picked up from the Amritsar railway station and taken to B. R. Model School interrogation center. After twenty days of illegal detention, Kesar was charged under TADA and sent to Amritsar jail.
One year later, in May 1993, while he was still in Amritsar jail, the Jhabal police obtained a judicial warrant to interrogate him in connection with some terrorist offence. Five days after taking him in, the police declared that Kesar escaped from their custody. However, the family members received a letter from him disclosing that he was still under illegal detention at Verowal police station. Reports on his supposed escape was carried by Ajj Di Awaj, Ajit, and Punjabi Tribune on 13 September 1993.
After vainly approaching several influential officials and politicians for help, including DIG Bhatti, Balwant Singh Ramoowalia, then Vice-Chairman of the Minorities Commission, Chief Minister Beant Singh, Ram Jethmalani,a famous lawyer and member of Parliament, former President of India Giani Zail Singh and KPS Gill, the family moved a petition No. 455/1994 before the Punjab and Haryana High Court for a writ of habeas corpus. The court ordered a judicial inquiry, which reported that seven persons of the family, including Kesar and Baba Meja Singh, had indeed disappeared. The inquiry report, however, did not comment on the issue of culpability, and the court ordered a further CBI inquiry, which has not yet concluded. The petition before the High Court was handled by lawyer Ranjan Lakhanpal.
The family members who disappeared are (1) Baba Charan Singh, (2) Baba Meja Singh, (3) Baba Gurdev Singh, all brother of Kesar Singh, (4) Gurmej Singh, Baba Charan Singh's brother-in-law, (5) Gurmej's son Balwinder Singh, (6) Meja Singh's brother-in-law Lakha Singh and (7) Kesar Singh.

Case No. 9: Boor Singh was a seventy years old farmer who had become completely blind. He was married with five grown up sons, the youngest being twenty years old Arjan Singh, who the police suspected of maintaining terrorist connections. The family lived at village Sehnsra Kalan, under Jhander police station in Ajnala subdivision of Amritsar district.As the police had been routinely raiding the farm house, also harassing all the members of the family because of their suspicions on Arjan, they began to live elsewhere.
On 5 March 92, Arjan Singh was arrested from the community kitchen attached to Anandpur Sahib Gurudwara while he was eating food by a group of officers led by SHO Wassan Singh of Jhander Police Station. The next day, Arjan was shown killed in a supposed armed encounter that was orchestrated near village Sehnsra Khurd. The body was not handed over to the family. The cremation itself was traced to Amritsar cremation ground and the family collected the ashes.
This was not the end of the story. 27 August, 1992 night, a large group of policemen raided the farmhouse when Boor Singh was there alone. The police opened heavy fire on the farm house and later took the blind man into custody. The next day, members of the family along with village elders went to Police Station Khatrai Kalan. However, no official there listened to them. They went on to meet the IG Bhatti and begged him to get their totally blind and innocent father released. In stead of help, the police conducted one more raid to demolish the house and also to confiscate all household belongings.
Boor Singh could not be located and there has been no news about his fate.

Case No. 10: Forty years old Gurpal Singh, alias Pala, and his wife Kamaljit Kaur were employees of the Punjab State Electricity Board at Hamira. Their family comprised Gurpal's old father and mother, and their two young children. They lived in village Gagrewal under police station Verowal in Khadur Sahib subdivision of Amritsar district.
In the past, Gurpal had been once detained for interrogation by a team of CRPF officials from Khuaspur. In the course of his interrogation, Gurpal had also been tortured. He was released after the entire village council intervened to testify his innocence. Gurpal had no political association and did his job regularly.
9 April 1992 morning, Gurpal along with his wife Kamaljit Kaur cycled down to Gagrewal Bus Stand from where they used to catch a bus to Rayya to go to work. On that day, they wanted to help Gurpal's brother-in-law in purchasing some household things and were waiting for him outside a hardware shop when SHO Wassan Singh of Beas police station drove up in a jeep and motioned Gurpal to come to him. As Gurpal Singh came close to the jeep, some policemen jumped out and pushed him inside the vehicle, which drove away. Kamaljeet Kaur, who witnessed the abduction, immediately informed his family and also the the Electricity Board office at Rayya on telephone. Meanwhile, Gurpal's brother-in-law Niranjan Singh, employed by the Punjab State Electricity Board at Rayya, arrived to keep his shopping appointment. Learning about the abduction, he went to DSP Darshan Singh Mann and SHO Wassan Singh who acknowledged the arrest and promised to release Gurpal after interrogating him. They also repeated the promise to the Sub-Divisional Officer of Rayya Electricity Board who also got in touch with them to appeal for Gurpal's release.
On 10 April 92, several members of the family again met SHO Wassan Singh who said that Gurpal had to first recover from the effects of his torture under interrogation. He promised that Gurpal would return home as soon as he felt little better, which he said would be in some days. On 15 April 92, the SHO said that Gurpal had been taken to Kapurthala for further questioning. But DSP Mann told Kamljeet, Gurpal's wife, that they should not waste any more time as her husband had already been killed. He also suggested that she would receive compensation that her husband had been kidnapped and killed by terrorists.
The family refused to oblige and sent telegrams and petitions to the higher authorities including the Home Secretary, the DGP, the DC Amritsar, DSP Baba Bakala, Chairman Punjab State Electricity Board at Patiala, Superintending Engineer of Tarn Taran Circle, and several others. However, no one responded. Kamaljit has not even received Gurpal's Provident Fund and other arrears from her husband's employment with the electricity department, which has demanded a FIR regarding Gurpal's abduction. That the police refused to register.
Six months after the incident, Gurpal's eighty years old father Bala Singh was called by Jalalabad police officials who questioned him about Gurpal and forced him to sign some papers. Illiterate, old and afraid of the police, he had no choice. His wife Swaran Kaur had already died from the shock of her son's disappearance.

OUTSIDE AMRITSAR:
Case No. 1: Bupinder Singh, alias Toti, was a post-graduate student of geography at the university of Patiala. Bhupinder, like the rest of the family, was a baptized Sikh and was deeply involved in the Sikh community's situation in Punjab. He used to organize religious and quasi-political functions for the students in the university, and was locally known for his activities. Bhupinder's father Joginder Singh, a teacher in a government school, and other members of his family lived in village Alipur, under Nabha Sadar police station of Patiala district.
Inspector Surjit Singh Grewal, who later became the DSP incharge of the CIA interrogation center, disliked Bhupinder's extracurricular activities, and had picked him up a number of times for interrogation. Grewal had also accused Bhupinder of distributing sweets in the university campus after Rajiv Gandhi got assassinated in the summer of 1991. But he could not do much as the University authorities, including the Vice Chancellor vouched for him as a good student, and interfered to get him out of illegal custody whenever Grewal took him in.
Although Grewal was later transferred to the Punjab Armed Police center at Bahadargarh in Patiala, he had developed a personal interest in Bhupinder Singh's case. Once Grewal called some students of the Patiala University, including Maninder Singh Kaku, a student of law and now a lawyer, to his house. Grewal asked them to bring Bhupinder down to his house, so that he could talk to him and advise him on how to avoid troubles with the police. On 20 August 92, Maninder Singh Kaku, who now lives in House Number 1517 in Sector 36-D of Chandigarh took Bhupinder and his elder brother Balwinder along to DSP Grewal's house. Balwinder waited outside, while Bhupinder and Kaku went in. After some time, Kaku came out to say that the officer wanted a private talk with Balwinder and had promised to do him no harm. Kaku and Balwinder went back, but Bhupinder never returned.
The next day, the police picked up Bhupinder's father Master Joginder Singh and tortured him severely at the CIA staff interrogation center in Patiala. His illegal detention and torture lasted eight days. DSP Grewal personally warned him not to make any noise about his son; otherwise, he would also be eliminated. The police also abducted Bhupinder's elder brothers Balwinder and Hardev. Their father Joginder Singh moved the High Court for a writ of habeas corpus and both were released. Later on, his elder son Balwinder was again arrested and implicated in a case under TADA.
Master Joginder Singh does not know whether Bhupinder is still alive or has been killed. His own wife has from the effect of Toti's disappearance become almost insane.

Case No. 2: Tarlochan Singh was a young unmarried farmer from village Sehke near Amargarh in Malerkotla subdivision of Sangrur district.
The police suspected Tarlochan of being involved in the Sikh militant movement and wanted to arrest him. On 10 February 1993, his father Jagjit Singh and other village elders went with Tarlochan to SSP Bedi of Khanna police so that he could ascertain his antecedents and stop harassing him in the future. Tarlochan was implicated in a TADA case and sent to Nabha jail.
On 13 March 93, DSP Sukhdev Singh Brar of Malerkotla police obtained a magisterial remand for his interrogation in connection with his investigations in some other matter. The next day itself, it was declared that Tarlochan had escaped from the police custody. Nothing is known of his whereabouts since then. His sister Swaran Kaur could not bear the shock and died. Father Jagjit Singh, who admits to being mentally disturbed, suggests that his son might still be alive under secret detention somewhere.

0000c0 Twenty-one years old Amandip Singh was a student at Guru Nanak College in Batala. His father Balraj Singh is a teacher in the government primary school at Laddamanda and lives in Madre village under Batala subdivision of Gurdaspur district.
In December 1990, Balraj Singh was mugged on his way to the school by a group of young Sikh boys, presumably militants, who snatched his motorcycle (Registration Plate Number: PIA 135). Some days later, the Border Security Force recovered the stolen motorcycle, and deposited it at Dhariwal police station. Amandeep was taken into illegal custody and his father was asked to prove that he had purchased the motorcycle, and that it had actually been robbed. Amandeep was released from the illegal custody after eight days when Balraj Singh satisfied the authorities that he was the genuine owner and that he had been mugged. But the SHO Makhan Singh of Dhariwal police station demanded fifty thousand rupees to return the motorcycle. Balraj Singh had purchased it for eighteen thousand. Makhan Singh said that he was not demanding the value of the motorcycle but the price for his son's life. Balraj Singh met the SSP S. K. Goyal who refused to interfere. Balraj Singh did not pay the money, but asked the SHO to keep the motorcycle.
18 March 1991 morning, Amandeep and Jasbir Singh, a fellow student from his own village, left for their college in Batala in a Punjab roadways bus No. PBN 1119. On the way, SHO Makhan Singh and ASP Gurmel Singh stopped the bus and arrested them. Many natives of village Madre, including Master Shiv Singh and Kashmir Singh, were travelling in the same bus and witnessed the arrests. Both were taken back to their village Madre where the officers searched Jasbir's house.
Balraj Singh was at his time supervising an examination of a class in his school. Master Shiv Singh came to tell him about Amandeep's arrest, and he immediately went back to his village where the police was still searching Jasbir's house. Amandeep, Jasbir and a third boy, in the police custody, were standing outside. They had been blindfolded and handcuffed. Balraj Singh asked SHO Makhan Singh why he had arrested his son. The SHO told him to find out from the ASP who declared that the arrests had been made on instructions from SSP Goyal. After the search, the police took all the three boys to Dhariwal police station. Master Balraj Singh and Jasbir's father Gurbaksh Singh, and their relatives, also went there.
At 4 in the afternoon, SSP Goyal came to Dhariwal police station when Balraj Singh managed to speak to him. The SSP said that the boys would be interrogated.
Balraj Singh was still standing outside the police station when a Suzuki Gypsi with the license plate number PAK 7978 drove in. One DSP called Basi, previously in-charge of the BIKO interrogation center and then posted in Pathankot district, got out of the vehicle. After some time, he came out along with Amandeep, forced him into the vehicle, and drove away.
Early next morning, Balraj Singh went to the office of SSP Goyal who, however, was not available. Balraj Singh managed to speak to him late in the evening at his residence. The SSP said that the interrogation was not over and that he should see him the following day. It was 20 March 1991. Punjab Kesari, a Hindi newspaper, reported two separate incidents of supposed encounters in which five 'militants' had been killed. The first incident was had occurred at Sakoda village in Gurdaspur district when some 'militants' reportedly attacked a joint patrol of the BSF and the Punjab police, who fired back in self defense and killed three militants identified as Jagbir Singh, Hardev Singh and Satnam Singh. Jagbir had been arrest along with Amandeep. The other two were also from the neighboring villages.
The second incident was reported to have taken place in Pathankot district. The newspaper story said that some militants attacked the police team to rescue Kamaljit Singh, who was being taken to village Lamiri to recover weapons. Kamajit and one unidentified militant were killed when the police fired back in self-defense. The newspaper reporting of the incidents was based on a press briefing the SSP had held on 19 March. The same evening the SSP had told Balraj Singh that Amandeep's interrogation was in progress.
Balraj Singh suspected that the unidentified militant reported to have been killed in the second incident might be Amandeep. But SSP Goyal had told him that the interrogation was continuing. Immediately, he went to the SSP and asked him about his son's interrogation. Goyal remained silent. Balraj asked him why he was not speaking. Then he said "go to Dhariwal police station. I will come there." Balraj reached there and SSP Goyal also arrived. For some time he remained in conference with SHO Makhan Singh. After a while, Makhan Singh came out and told Balraj Singh that he had never arrested Amandeep. Balraj Singh became agitated and started shouting and moving towards the SHO, who threatened to shoot if he did not stop. Balraj Singh said he would not stop unless he told him what happened to his son. Makhan Singh then said that Amandeep was with the SP (Operations), and that he should go to him to find out. SSP Goyal did not come out. After waiting at the police station for some time, Balraj Singh went back home.
He had already sent telegrams about Amandeep's illegal arrest to the Governor, the High Court, the DGP, the Deputy Commissioner and other higher officials. Later, he also sent registered letters to them. The SP (Operations) refused to meet him. Balraj Singh did not know what to do.
On 27 March, a Punjabi paper Jagbani identified the second person killed in the 18 March incident at Pathankot as Amandeep Singh of Madra village. Once again, SSP Goyal had briefed the press to clarify the identity. By then the police had already carried out the cremation. Balraj Singh went to Pathankot and met the father of Kamaljit Singh, the supposed militant Amandeep had reportedly tried to rescue from the police custody. Kamaljit Singh's father, a priest of the local Gurudwara, told him that he had attended the cremations and had also collected the ashes of the second person, reported unidentified, who had been killed along with his son. The old man was unable to give a coherent description of the body.

Case No. 4: Amrik Singh, alias Mangu, was a thirty-two year man with a wife and three young children. He owned a small grocery shop and lived in Ghanauri Kalan village under Sherpur police station of Dhuri subdivision in Sangrur district.
On 31 May 1992, SHO Darshan Singh of Dhuri police station led a police team to arrest Amrik from his shop. At that time Amrik's younger brother Darshan Singh was also present there.
The SHO gave evasive answers when Amrik's wife Bhupinder Kaur later met him to plead for her husband's release from the illegal custody. Amrik's father Bhan Singh sent petitions to several officials including the SSP of Sangrur and the DGP KPS Gill. No one acknowedged them and nothing was heard about Amrik. Some time after Bhan Singh had written to the senior officials, he and other members of the family were called to Sherpur police station and compelled to put their thumb impressions on several sheets of blank paper.

Case No. 5: Forty years old Major Singh was the head of his village council Hathur under Jagraon subdivision of Ludhiana district. Jagraon is now a separate police district. Married with four children, he was a farmer, and had also invested in the transport business.
In 1992, SSP Swaran Singh of Jagraon police district had got him illegally detained and later implicated in a case under the Arms Act. Major Singh came out on bail after some months.
3 May 1993 night, SHO Rachhpal Singh of Nihal Singhwala police station in Faridkot district lead a team of officers who raided Major Singh's house and took him into illegal custody along with his two broters-in-law Balbir Singh and Jagtar Singh, and his nephew Amarjit Singh.
One week after these arrests, SHO Ajaib Singh of Hathur police post came with another team of police men to destroy the house and to carry away all the valuable goods.
After this incident, when the family members and other village elders went to SHO Rachhpal Singh of Nihal Singhwala police station, he allowed them to meet Major Singh who was in the lock-up and under interrogation. The family members continued to meet him there till 13 May 93. The SHO was demanding two hundred thousand rupees to release Major Singh, one hundred and fifty thousand rupees each for the release of Balbir and Jagtar and Major Singh's transport truck No. 4889.
The family members had no choice but to raise the amounts of bribe money, being demanded from them. They also handed over the truck which was, however, used subsequently to implicate Amarjit's brother-in-law Hardeep, his nephew Amarjit, one Nachhatter Singh Fauji from Daudhar village and two others in a supposed terrorist offence. Major Singh was not released and he disappeared.
Subsequently, SSP Mithlesh Kumar Tiwari of Faridkot interfered to make SHO Rachhpal return Rs. 150,000 to Major's mother Mahinder Kaur. This happened in the office of the SSP and was witnessed by several members of the village council. SSP Tiwari also promised to trace out Major Singh and to get him released. Later, he evaded inquiries and said that the family members should ask the SSP of Jagraon for information.
A habeas corpus petition No. 250/96 was filed before the Supreme Court, which ordered Sessions Judge Amar Dutt to carry out an inquiry. The inquiry report supported the police claim that Major Singh had been killed in an incident of armed combat between militants and the police force.

0000c0 Thirty-five years old Manmohan Singh was employed at Guru Nanak Dev Rice Mills in Jagraon on a salary of Rs. 2500/-. He supported his family of three young children, his wife and 7o years old mother, who all lived in House number 2042, Agwar Gujran, Jagraon. Manmohan had no political or criminal involvement, and had never been arrested before.
3 May 1993 night, SI Joginder Singh and other policemen from Jagraon's CIA staff office raided the house and took Manmohan into custody in front of the entire family.
Ten days before the abduction, Manmohan and his brother Sohan had sold a piece of their agricultural land with the intention to buy a transport truck. The money from the sale of land had been deposited in a bank, but the purchase of a truck got delayed because of Sohan's untimely death from over drinking.
Two days after his abduction, the police officials brought Manmohan back to the house to search for his bank papers. They also forced him to withdraw 150,000 rupees from his account. Thereafter, the police claimed that Manmohan escaped from their custody. The news about the escape, based on the police handout, was carried by daily Ajit on 7 May 93.

Case No. 7: Twenty-eight years old Dalbir Singh, alias Banka, was a small farmer from Behlolpur Tandian village under Kharar subdivision of Ropar district. His family comprised his mother Malkeet Kaur, his wife Sukhwant Kaur and one young son.
Early 6 February 1991 morning, SHO Ramesh Chander of Kharar police station led a raid of the house and took Dalbir in custody. The police brought him back later in the day to conduct a search of the house, but nothing incriminating was recovered.
His father Gurmukh Singh along with other village elders went to the police station where the SHO let them talk to Dalbir. He also promised to let him go later in the evening after some questioning.
Dalbir did not come home. When Gurmukh went to the police station again the next day, the SHO refused to see him and got him thrown out of the police station. Although there has been no information on Dalbir, his wife Sukhwant Kaur hopes that he might still be alive.

Case No. 8: Forty years old Ranjit Kaur was married to Amar Singh, an employee of Indian Airlines, lived in village Gharuan, Patti Daggo, under Kharar police station of Ropar district. They had three grown up children. Her husband lived in 101/A7, Indian air Lines Colony, Vasant Vihar, New Delhi-57.
In 1992, her husband Amar Singh had been illegally detained by the police in Delhi and later on sent to jail on a trumped up charge of being a vagabond. He had no other criminal record.
Early in the morning of 22 June 92, SSP Sanjeev Gupta of Hoshiarpur led a police raid of their village house in Gharuan, Patti Daggo, to take Ranjit Kaur into custody. One of Ranjit's daughters insisted on accompanying her to the police station. But the policemen pushed her away from the jeep in which Ranjit Kaur was driven away. No one has heard of or seen her again.
The family members visited several police stations in Hoshiarpur and Ropar districts to search for her. Their representations addressed to the higher authorities, including the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister, remained unacknowledged. Ranjit's husband has from the grief become an alcoholic. Her mother has become almost blind from continuous weeping.

Case No. 9: Daljit Singh, alias Jeeta, was a forty years old farmer from Jhawan village under Tanda police station of Hoshiarpur district who also sang religious hymns at Gurudwaras during festivals.
Daljit had been detained illegally a number of times for interrogation on the suspicion that he maintained militant connections. But he was never fomally charged of any offence though in early 1990 his brother-in-law Joginder Singh, son of Mehar Singh from Kulara village in Hoshiarpur district was killed in a faked incident of armed encounter.
On 23 October 1990, Daljit along with his wife Baljinder Kaur, who has since remarried, went to Behram village to call on a relative. That night Daljit was taken into custody from the house of Bhajan Singh in Behram village by Inspector Joginder Singh Ghora of the CIA staff Hoshiarpur who raided the house. Sumedh Singh Saini was the SSP of the district.
Daljit disappeared with no news of his whereabouts. Baljinder Kaur sent telegrams and petitions to the SSP and the higher State government officials. But no one acknowledged them. Some days after Daljit's abduction, a joint team officials from Hoshiarpur CIA staff and from Tanda police station conducted another raid of his house in Jhawan, which was demolished and all the valuables confiscated. The loss of property is estimated at Rs. 150,000. Daljit's brother Amrik Singh and his sisters Hardev Kaur and Jasvir Kaur and his mother Jeet Kaur continue to insist on a thorough inquiry.

Case No. 10: Forty years old Saroop Singh, resident of Nangal Khunga village under Tanda police station in Dasuya subdivision of Hoshiarpur district, had been discharged from the army. Married to Balvir Kaur with three children, Saroop was engaged in farming. He was also a member of the Akali Dal and had taken part in the agitation launched by Sant Longowal and had courted arrest on many occasions. He had also been arrested, in early 1989, on the charge of sheltering a terrorist. But he was released on bail in March 89.
On 30 April 1989, a police party led by Inspector Sardul Singh of Dasuya police station came to the village to arrest Saroop Singh, who was not home. The police damaged the house and other property belonging to Saroop's father Preetam Singh who estimates the value of a Kirloskar diesel engine, a scooter and bundles of harvested wheat, damaged by the police, to be over Rs. 40,000. The police officials also humiliated other village residents, telling them that they will all be killed unless Saroop was handed over to the police.
On 26 May 89, a delegation of village elders accompanied Saroop Singh to the Dasuya police station, where he was taken into custody. Few days later, the police also picked up his father Preetam Singh and also interrogated him at Dasuya police station where he saw his son. Saroop had been badly tortured and could not even stand up. Ajit Singh Sandhu was the DSP of Dasuya.
Preetam was released after the illegal detention, after seven days. On 25 May 89, he met his son Saroop Singh again at Hajipur police station where he had been transferred for further interrogation. The next day, it was announced that Swaroop had escaped from the police custody. Although his whereabouts remain completely unknown, Inspector Sardul Singh told a local politician that Saroop was being held in a secret place and would eventually get released.
The police had also arrested Vikram Singh son of Jaswant Singh from village Khudda in Hoshiarpur Distt, along with Swaroop. Vikram has also disappeared.

POLICEMEN WHO THEMSELVES BECAME VICTIMS:
Case No. 1: Thirty-three years old Sawinder Pal Singh from village Jaura under Patti police station in Tarn Taran subdivision of Amritsar district was a constable with the Punjab Armed Police. Married to Sarbjit Kaur with two young children, Sawinderpal came from a reasonably wealthy land owning family. His father Jeevan Singh was a Reader in the office of the Patti's subdivisional magistrate. His brother was also an officer (Patwari) in the Revenue Department. His uncle Sukhdev Singh was an Assistant Sub-Inspector of Police attached to the Beas Police Station.
In November 90, ASI Sukhdev Singh along with some other policemen got ambushed and killed by terrorists. Sawinderpal took leave to attend the last rites and, under pressure from the family, decided to quit the police service. He had taken three days of leave from 6 to 9 November 90, but did not report back on duty, neglecting several official letters which called him to do so. The last letter from the department which threatened disciplinary action if he did not immediately attend his roll call was dated 18 March 91.Although he had not acknowledged the official letters, Sawinderpal remained at his village house attending to the family's agricultural work.
On 1 April 91, Sawinderpal went to his paternal aunt's house in village Mughal Chakk Pannuan to collect sugarcane graft for his farm, and stayed there overnight. Early 2 April morning, a joint team of the CRPF and Tarn Taran police raided the village. The police party was led by SP (Ops) Khubi Ram and SHO Major Singh from Sadar Police Station. All males were assembled at the village school and those who could not establish their permanent local residence were taken into custody. Sawinderpal and Prem Singh, Sukhdev Singh, Pargat Singh and Bhajan Singh were among those who were taken into custody. Pargat and Bhajan were released on 8 April 91.
The same day, Sawinderpal's cousin brother Dilbag Singh informed the family about the incident. The police and the CRPF also raided Sawinderpal's family house in village Jaura but nothing incriminating was recovered. His father Jeevan Singh, along with village elders, went to the SSP Narinderpal Singh the morning of 3rd April. The SSP promised to find out the details and let them know the next day. They went back, but he refused to see. SHO Major Singh told them that Sawinderpal was in the custody of SP (Ops) Khubi Ram.
The Congress politician Surinder Singh Kairon helped the family to meet various officials on the 5th, 6th and 7th of April. Although very evasive and sarcastic, the SSP promised to find out and let them know. On 8th April, he told them that Sawinderpal's name did not figure in the list of detained persons.
On 12 April, Jeevan Singh sent telegrams about his son's abduction to the Governor and other officials, including the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. But there was no response. Sawinderpal Singh's whereabouts remain unknown.

Case No. 2: Forty years old Dalbir Singh from Patti Gurmukhan Di under Verowal police station in Khadoor Sahib subdivision of Amritsar district was a constable of the Punjab Armed Police. He was married to Balbir Kaur with three young children.
Dalbir became a suspect after the Operation Blue Star when he was accused of leading a protest march. Following a departmental inquiry, he was suspended from service on 1 January 1988. Dalbir challenged the order of his suspension, and won his case for reinstatement by the orders of the lower court, further confirmed by the Court of Sessions. Dalbir was to return to official duty on 28 October 1992.
In the period of his suspension, Dalbir had joined a group of religious volunteers under Baba Sewa Singh who organized free social and religious service, mainly for the renovation and maintainance of Sikh religious shrines in the area of Khadoor Sahib. On 24 October 92, he was volunteering construction work of a Gurudwara near village Ulme More and had reached there along with the group when a team of officials led by SSP Ajit Singh Sandhu of Tarn Taran, SHO Surinderpal Singh of Sarhali police station, the SHO of Naushahra Police Post and HC Jasbir Singh took him into custody. Finding out about the arrest, the family got in touch with the SSP and the SHO Surinderpal Singh, who demanded two hundred thousand rupees as a bribe for Dalbir's release. The SHO suggested that as he had been reinstated, he would recieve a lot of money in arrears. When Dalbir's wife Balbir and his brother Balwinder Singh demanded to first see him in the custody, the SHO let them meet him at police post Naushehra. Balbir Kaur saw him there for the last time on 31 October 1992. Balbir Kaur was unable to raise the amount demanded by the SHO.
A relative Joga Singh, an Inspector with the BSF, met several officials including the IG Border Range, the DGP, and the SSP for help. But nothing happened. The High Court ordered a magisterial inquiry following a petition for a writ of habeas corpus filed by the family through Rajwinder Singh Bains. The findings of the inquiry are not known. Dalbir's whereabouts remains unknown. The family suspects that he has been killed and his body disposed of illegally.

Case No. 3: Twenty-four years old Dilbag Singh, alias Bagga, was an instructor at Phillaur Police Training Center in Jalandhar district. His native village was Ghania Ke Bangar in Batala subdivision of Gurdaspur district, where his parents, wife Sukhbir Kaur and their five years old son lived. At the police training Centre, Dilbagh had a good reputation as an Instructor. However, he got involved in a case that was pending trial before a court at Phillaur.
On 7 December 1991, Dilbagh and his father Tasvir Singh were returning to their village after attending the court hearing. On the way at a check post, between Guraya and Phillaur, Dilbagh was taken into custody by four policemen, three in civil clothes and one in uniform, whom Tasvir Singh could not identify. They pushed him away, when he demanded the officers to either tell him where they were taking his son or to let him come along.
Tasvir returned to his village and told the members of the village council who accompanied him to report the abduction to the senior police officials at Jalandhar. They met SP(Detective) Harinder Singh Chahal and SHO Kanwaljit Singh of Sadar police station to tell them about the abduction. The officers promised to find out. Later, the same delegation met the DIG Bhullar of Gurdaspur, and also sent telegrams to the Deputy Commissioner of Jalandhar, the Governor of Punjab, the chief of the Phillaur Police Training Center, the SSP of Batala, the DGP Punjab, IG CID Punjab, and the Chief Justice of Haryana and Punjab High Court. But no action followed. In stead, Tasvir Singh and his younger son Gurinderbir Singh were called to the police station of Ghania Ke Bangar and there both of them were severely tortured. They were told to stop all the "trouble", or else they would also disappear. The torture of Tasvir had been so severe that he has not recovered from its effects so far. No officer acknowledged the abduction. No newspaper reported it. No court took any action. And the family does not know whether Dilbagh has been killed or not; if yes, how and when, where and how has his body been disposed of.

Case No. 4: Twenty-two years old Gurdev Singh, an unmarried Sikh boy from village Raipur Kalan under police station Jandiala Guru in Amritsar district was a constable with the Punjab police. Stationed at Sathiala police post, Gurdev used to resist the pressure from the superiors to join custodial atrocities and, for that reason, not liked by them.
25 October 1992 early morning, Gurdev came home after a night shift when soon afterwards, some commandos of the Punjab police led by ASI Mohan Singh of Gurdaspur police station came to the house. They said that Gurdev had been transferred from Sathiala police post to Beas Police Station and that they had to take him along to join his new posting. Gurdev was actually taken to Gurdaspur police station, and then handed over for interrogation to Wassan Singh, Sub Inspector of the Mal Mandi Interrogation Center in Amritsar. Gurdev was never seen again.
The family sent several representations to senior officials, including the IG Border Range. But nothing happened. Gurdev's brother Narinder Singh is a soldier of the Indian army and a member of the President's Guard stationed at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. His superior officer wrote a semi official memorandum No. 4046/1/A, dated 25 July 1993, addressed to SSP Majitha Sarabjit Singh Gill, SSP Gurdaspur and SSP Ferozepur to demand an inquiry. But there was no response.
Fearing the consequences for Narinder's own career, the family did not dare to take any legal action. The incident was also not reported in any newspaper. Gurdev's father suffered a nervous breakdown and died in July 1996.

Case No. 5: Twenty years old Kuldip Singh from village Fatehpur Badeshe in Tarn Taran subdivision of Amritsar district joined the Punjab police after passing out the school. He was unmarried, and looked after his parents and his sixteen years old younger sister. His uncle Rana Pratap Singh was a known militant, but Kuldip and his family had no contact with him.
Appointed as a gunman of DSP Gurmeet Singh of Tarn Taran, Kuldip had been sent to Bahadurgarh police training center in district Patiala to be trained as a Commando. On 6 July 92, Kuldip was exercising on the grounds of the training center, when a team of CIA staff from Tarn Taran led by Inspector Charan Sharma and constable Charan Kamal Bir Singh took Kuldip into custody and brought him to the Tarn Taran CIA Staff interrogation center.
Kuldip's father Jagir Singh, mother Mahinder Kaur, his uncle Santokh Singh and aunt Rattan Kaur met Kuldip in the lock up of the CIA staff interrogation center where he and his cousin Saroop Singh, also a Punjab police constable, were being interrogated for the whereabouts of their uncle Rana Pratap Singh. SSP A.S. Sandhu had promised to release both Kuldip and Saroop Singh, if they cooperated in their interrogation. After some days, the CIA officials refused to allow them inside on the ground that both Kuldip and Saroop Singh had been sent elsewhere for questioning. Sandhu himself denied the custody and refused to see his parents.
DIG Commando Administration of Bahadurgarh Police Training Center wrote two letters to the SSP of Tarn Taran on 7 August 92 and 4 November 92 to inquire about the whereabouts of Kuldip. Following this, the SSP Tarn Taran initiated a departmental inquiry and on 13 August 94 had Kuldip dismissed from the service on the ground that he had absented himself from duty since 6 July 1992. A former colleague of Kuldip Singh informed his parents that his interrogators had killed him and his cousin Saroop Singh under torture and had thrown their dead bodies in Harike canal. Kuldip's uncle Rana Pratap and his cousin Saroop were also killed in 1993.

Case No. 6: Twenty-two years old Sukhwinder Singh, alias Satta, joined the Punjab police immediately after passing his Higher Secondary School examination, and was posted as a constable at Dhaul Police Post under Sadar police station of Amritsar. Sukhwinder was unmarried, but was responsible for the welfare of his poor Mazhabi family comprising his old parents, three young sisters and one brother. The family lived at village Khela under Goindwal Sahib police station in Tarn Taran subdivision of Amritsar district.
18 April 93 morning, Sukhwinder came home after a night shift at Dhaul police post. The same afternoon, around 3 p.m., Sukhwinder was getting ready to go back to his duty when a group of police officers led by Sub Inspector Ram Lubhaya entered the house and took him into custody on the ground that he was found absent from his duty. They refused to disclose where they were going to take Sukhwinder.
His father Dildar Singh and mother Balbir Kaur immediately rushed to the house of former MLA Lakha Singh who, however, was not available at that time. Dildar then went to Dhaul police post and found out that Sub Inspector Lubhaya had come there on an inspection at about 1 p.m., and was annoyed to find out that constable Sukhwinder had gone home without actually completing his shift. Dildar Singh went back to former MLA Lakha Singh who talked to the sitting MLA Pawan Kumar and confirmed that Sukhwinder was in the custody of Beas police station. Dildar then went to the Beas police station whose officers promised to release him after interrogation.
The next mornig, i.e., 20 April 93, around 11 a.m., Dildar went to Beas police station to see his son along with three other village elders. The SHO Paramjit Singh and Sub-Inspector Lubhaya were not present. Dildar bribed two hundred rupees to a clerk in the police station who let them talk to Sukhwinder who was sitting in a Allwyn Nissan van, along with another constable Sarmukh Singh from Muchal village who had also been taken into custody. Sukhwinder was not able to say much as both of them were being guarded by a Sub-Inspector who drove away with them to some undisclosed place.
Dildar and few other members of the village council were able to meet the boys again at Beas police station on 22nd and 23rd of April. Dildar had met Jasbir Singh Dimpa, a Congress leader with close family ties with his wife's parents, for help. Dimpa went with him to Baba Bakala police station to meet SP Balkar Singh who promised to get Sukhwinder released in a day or two. When nothing happened for nearly ten days, Sukhwinder's mother, sister and some other female relatives met SSP Paramjit Singh Gill of Amritsar who assured them again to release him soon. But Sukhwinder remained in the custody. The family continued to meet the police officials for the next two years under the conviction that Sukhwinder was still being held and used for some clandestine operation. The conviction was based on information that Sukhwinder's former colleagues informally gave them. It was reported that Sukhwinder was in the custody of Division No. 4 police station in Ludhiana.
Meanwhile, Paramjit Singh Gill had been transferred to Fatehgarh Sahib, where again Dildar went to meet him. Gill asked him to see SSP Prabodh Kumar of Majitha who apparently deputed DSP Makhan Singh to make an inquiry. Makhan called Dildar several times, but nothing came of the inquiry.
Dildar also met Jaswant Singh Khalra who advised him to contact the relatives of Surmukh Singh, the other police constable who had also disappeared, to file a joint petition before the High Court. But Surmukh's father was too afraid to take any action. So, no petition could be filed.
Subsequently, an officer of the CBI recorded Dildar's statement in connection with their inquiry into the matter of illegal cremations of unidentified bodies. Following this, one Inspector Udham Singh posted at Doburji police station contacted Dildar to suggest that the police officials responsible for his son's abduction were willing to pay Rs. 300,000/-, if he would agree to make no statement to the CBI. But Dildar rejected the offer. Dildar, who has sent this complaint, holds the police responsible not only for the disappearance of Sukhwinder Singh, but also for the killing of his uncle and of his own parents who apparently died from the shock of this incident.

Case No. 7: Thirty-five years old Kirpal Singh, a constable of the Border Security Force posted at CIA Staff interrogation center in BahadurSingh Wala, was the resident of Village Benra under Dhuri subdivision in Sangrur district. He was married to Harjit Kaur, with a five years old daughter, but was also responsible for the maintenance of his parents and his paternal uncle.
In the night of 1st February 1993, a group of policemen raided the house with the intention of taking Kirpal into custody. He was not home.
The next morning, the village council of elders accompanied Kirpal to the CIA staff office at BahadurSingh Wala and handed him over to Sub-Inspector Harpreet, ASI Gurmeet Singh and ASI Sardara Singh. Many people witnessed the surrender.
Kirpal was never seen again. The attempts by his sixty-five years old father Gurdayal Singh to locate him were in vain. Unable to cope with the disappearance of his son, Gurdayal Singh himself died. His wife Jagir Kaur has also fallen ill and is being cared for by Kirpal's brother Nachhattar Singh.

Case No. 8: Twenty-two years old Nirbhai Singh, a constable of the Punjab police, was resident of village Alal under Sherpur police station of Dhuri subdivision in Sagrur district. Intelligent and a trained Commando, Nirbhai was liked by his superiors and colleagues alike until early October 1991 when they developed suspicions that his brother Avtar Singh was connected with militant activities. Avtar was illegally arrested and tortured. Nirbhai also came under suspicion and he deserted his post.
The police began to raid his house and harass other family members to produce Nirbhai. On 14 October 91, his father Dharam Singh along with many prominent persons from his area, including several politicians, took Nirbhai to Jasvir Singh Sandhu, SP (Operations) of Sangrur who promised to release him after the necessary investigations. Nirbhai was made over to Inspector Sant Kumar of Patiala CIA staff for interrogation where he was once allowed to meet brother Gurmel Singh. Few days later, Inspector Sant Kumar told Dharam Singh that Nirbhai had been handed over for interrogation to Sumedh Singh Saini of Chandigarh police. DSP Surjit Singh Grewal at Patiala told him that as his son was innocent he had nothing to fear and would eventually come out. His brother Avtar, though brutally tortured in the custody, had already been released.
After some days, Dharma Singh met Grewal again who said that Nirbhai was helping the Ludhiana police in resolving some sensitive terrorist offences. He also mentioned that Inspector Narinder Kumar Bhargo, in-charge of Sadar Police station also called Focal Point No. 6 station, was looking after him.
In the middle of December 91, Dharam Singh saw his son sitting in a police vehicle under the custody of Inspector Sant Kumar at a popular religious fair in Sirhind. Apparently, he had been taken there to identify those with militant connections who might come to attend the fair. When Dharam Singh requested the Inspector to either release his son or to produce him before a magistrate, he flatly denied having him in his custody. Dharam Singh was frightened and assumed that the Inspector would kill his son if he insisted on the matter.
Some months later, Inspector Sant Kumar was transferred to Patiala Sadar police station and Dharam Singh heard that he had taken Nirbhai along with him. In May 1992, Dharam Singh met him there. Nirbhai was in the police lock-up and coming to the iron bars began to weep on hearing his father's voice. Dharam Singh waived at him but pretended not to have seen his son from the fear that the Inspector might otherwise kill him. Dharam Singh begged the Inspector Sant Kumar to help him and to either release Nirbhai or to bring him to judicial custody. The inspector looked hesitant, and promised to do something about it in four or five days.
Five days later, Dharam Singh met Inspector Sant Kumar again. But this time he was rude and categorically denied having Nirbhai in his custody. Dharam Singh never saw or heard of his son again. He met almost the entire police hierarchy in Punjab, including DGP Gill, D. R. Bhatti, DIG of Patiala range, SSP Satish Kumar Sharma of Patiala, SP (Operations) Sangrur Jasvir Singh Sandhu, SSP Ludhiana Anil Kumar Sharma, SSP Bedi of Ludhiana, DSP Shiv Kumar of Ludhiana police, SP (Operations) Cheema of Ludhiana, Narinder Kumar Bhargava of Ludhiana's Focal Point Police Station and of course, Inspector Kumar. But no one cared to help.
Nirbhai's brother Avtar Singh had been so brutally tortured in the custody that he became a physical wreck. Their mother has become almost insane. Dharam Singh himself believes that Nirbhai might still be alive and wants a thorough inquiry. He would like to perform the religious rites in case the police have killed him. But he must know where, when and how he got killed.

Case No. 9: Thirty-five years old Sardool Singh, a constable with the Punjab Armed Police, lived with his wife Manjit Kaur and their three young daughters at village Rahal Chahal near Khadoor Sahib in Tarn Taran subdivision of Amritsar district.
In 1987, he was posted at the headquarters of the Punjab Armed Police at Jalandhar when he was arrested on the charge of belonging to the conspiracy to murder DGP Ribeiro, following an unsuccessful bid to assassinate him. Sardool spent three years in Sangrur jail, but was released on bail in 1990. The trial dragged on and he regularly attended the court proceedings.
For his livelihood, Sardool started a dairy farm. He also became the Secretary to the Verka Co-Operative Society, which provided short term loans to farmers to help them cope with seasonal financial pressures between harvesting and sale of their produce. Thus, Sardool was living a busy life. The police did not harass him in any way.
One day in early October 1992, a group of police officials from the CIA Staff Tarn Taran raided Sardool's house with the intention to arrest him. Sardool had gone out in connection with his dairy farm work. The police officials told the family members that he should appear before SSP Ajit Singh Sandhu at Tarn Taran as soon as he returned home. Sardool did not report to the SSP Sandhu.
After fifteen days, the same group of officials raided the house again and took his wife Manjit Kaur into custody and went away with her to Tarn Taran. Manjit Kaur was held illegally for twelve days at the CIA staff interrogation center in Tarn Taran and, thereafter, for six days at Goindwal police station under the custody of all male officers.
Sardool contacted Amrik Kaur of Amarkot village, a police informer, and requested her to help him and his wife out of the crisis. Amrik Kaur took him to Baba Ajit Singh Poohla, a Nihang leader, also a police operative and the head of a vigilante group. Baba Poohla talked to Sandhu and told Sardool Singh that his wife would be released if he agreed to live in his camp. Sardool agreed and went over to Poohla's camp.
After her release, Manjit Kaur had to spend one night at Baba Poohla's residence where Sardool asked her to pay Rs. 14,000 to be paid to Amrik Kaur for his own release. Some days later his brother Harbans Singh came to Baba Poohla's camp to inform him that the money had been paid to Amrik Kaur who then told him that Sardool Singh was now free to go away. But Baba Poohla asked Harbans to come back the next day, when he said that Sardool had run away from his camp. Some days later Harbans received a message at his house that Sardool was being held at Khalra police station.
Manjit Kaur and her brother Mangal Singh went to Khalra Police Station. SHO Suba Singh was not there, but his subordinate allowed them to talk to Sardool who was in a very bad shape from the thrashing and torture. Sardool told them that unless they managed to get him out soon, he would not live.
Harbans and Mangal met SSP Sandhu at his office who told them to persuade Sardool to get Baba Gurbachan Singh Manochahal, a known militant, arrested. They pleaded that Sardool had nothing to do with the militant activities, as he must have already found out from his interrogation in the custody. Sandhu asked them to see him again after few days. Two days later, Harbans and Mangal went to SSP Sandhu again at his office in Tarn Taran who asked them to check out from Khalra police station if Sardool was still there or not.
On the way to Khalra, they read a newspaper called Jagbani which carried a report on the killing of four unidentified militants in an armed encounter near a bridge at village Udhoke under Bhikhiwind police station. The newspaper also carried photographs of the slain militants. Sardool's photograph was also there, although he had been described as an unidentified militant.
After seeing the news report, they returned to the village where the people had already read the news report. This was approximately ten days after the Dipawali of 1992.
The family found out that the Bhikhiwind police had taken Sardool's body for cremation, declaring it as unidentified, to the Patti cremation ground. When the family reached there, the body had already been burnt. They could not even collect the ashes, which had been dispersed.
One year after this incident Sardool's mother Kesar Kaur, who suffered a paralytic stroke on learning of his murder in a supposed encounter, died. His wife Manjit, although mentally disturbed, bears the responsibility of bringing up their three daughters. In 1997, the family managed to get the identification of Sardool endorsed on the FIR of the supposed armed-encounter that had been registered at Bhikhiwind police station. This helped them to recover an amount of Rs. 11,000/- that was due to him from his General Provident Fund at the police department.

Case No. 10: Thirty-three years old Paramjit Singh, a constable with the Punjab police, was from a orthodox Sikh family that lived in village Bahmani Wala under Patti subdivision of Amritsar district. Paramjit was married to Sukhwant Kaur, with two young children, and also looked after his old parents. Paramjit's elder brother Heera Singh is a soldier in the Indian army.
Having joined the police force in 1982, Paramjit was first posted in Gurdaspur district. Some time later, he was transferred to Kapurthala. His family was continuously worried about his well being as Punjab witnessed the escalation of conflict between the Sikh militants and the State agencies.
Police personnel and their family members were becoming targets of militant attacks. Paramjit's own family members received many threats from the militants insisting that unless he quit the police force, they would eliminate them. Once his sixty-five years old father Narinder Singh was badly beaten up by militant agents, who let him off with the instruction to seriously discuss the matter over with his son. This was in the middle of 1989.
The incident emotionally disturbed Paramjit who came home on casual leave, but did not return to his duty. Scared and confused about the course of action that was correct for him to take, he also did not send a resignation. Paramjit ignored the letters from the department to account for himself and to report on duty.
For livelihood, Paramjit began to ply a taxi, which he purchased after mortgaging one and a half acres of family agricultural land. Once in early 1990, Paramjit was taken into custody by the Kapurthala police. His interrogators were apparently satisfied that he had quit the police force to spare his family members from the humiliation, violence and threats of elimination. No criminal case was registered against him, and Paramjit was allowed to go back to his work as a taxi operator.
On 2 June 1993, a group of fifteen or sixteen police officers led by one Sub Inspector, raided Paramjit's house while he was washing his Maruti van just outside. Some policemen got hold of Paramjit and started manhandling him. His wife Sukhwant Kaur and father Narinder Singh rushed out to intervene. But they were pushed away and Paramjit was forced into their Allwyn Nissan vehicle. The policemen demanded the keys of the Maruti van, but Paramjit's wife said that she did not have them. The policemen did not care to search for the keys, but attached the van to the backside of their large vehicle and towed it away.
Darshan Singh of Bahmani Wala village, who was visiting the family, recognized Sub-Inspector Rashpal Singh of Tarn Taran police. The Sub-Inspector was from his in-laws village of Sakhira. Paramjit's parents met SI Darshan Singh who demanded a bribe of Rs. 50,000 to get their son out of the trouble. They were still trying to raise the bribe money when a policeman informed them that Paramjit was being held at Kairon police post.
Narinder Singh and brother Heera, who had taken leave from the army on learning about his brother's abduction, went to Kairon police post where ASI Naurang Singh allowed them to meet Paramjit. He was in a very bad shape from the custodial torture. Paramjit said that his interrogators did not believe his statements of innocence, and asked for confessions. He also suggested that they should bribe the the Sub Inspector if he was able to spare his life for money. They should move fast if he was to live, Paramjit exhorted.
Narinder and Heera went back to the Kairon police post on 12th and 13th of June. But they could not meet Paramjit.
On 15 June 93, Ajit newspaper reported that a militant named Paramjit Singh of Bahmani Wala village had been killed in an armed encounter with the Punjab police. Although the newspaper had identified Paramjit by his name and village, the police did not return the dead body to the family, which does not even know how, when, where and by whom it got cremated.
Paramjit's widow Sukhwant Kaur, who now lives with her parents in Jaura village in Patti subdivision of Amritsar district, reports that her mother-in-law has from the trauma of this incident become mentally imbalanced.

SOLDIERS OF THE INDIAN ARMY:
Case No. 1: Forty-six years old Charan Singh, a retired non-Commissioned officer of the Indian army, lived in village Gosalan under Khanna police station within Samrala subdivision of Ludhiana district. After his retirement, Charan Singh returned to agriculture,also starting a dairy farm to supplement the family income. His thirty-seven years old son Navraj Singh shared the workload. The immediate family comprised Charan Singh's wife Kuldip Kaur, their son Navraj, his wife Jatinder Kaur and two grand children. Charan Singh had no political affiliation.
17 May 94 night, SSP Harinder Singh Chahal of Jagraon police district led a large group of policemen to raid Charan Singh's house. The SSP wanted to know from him the whereabouts of Amarjit Singh, a resident of the same village. When Charan Singh said he did not know, the SSP asked him to come along.
On 19 May, a large delegation of village elders and the family members met several police officials of Khanna, including SSP Raj Kishan Bedi.The SSP asked them to meet him the next day, when he told them that Charan Singh had been taken away by Jagraon police and that they should go there for relief.
This was confirmed by Nasib Singh, Charan Singh's brother, who was picked up by ASI Hakim Singh of police post Barwali on 20th of May and released on 21st. In custody, Nasib Singh had found out that his brother was with the Jagraon police. The village delegation met the SSP Jagraon for the first time on 20th of May. But he refused to disclose anything to them. A number of subsequent meetings with the SSP, also with the SHO of Jagraon police station yielded no results. Charan Singh's whereabouts remained unknown.
The SSP Jagraon got transferred to Patiala where the village delegation met him again to press for Charan Singh's release on the1st and 2nd of June 94. The SSP advised them to meet Inspector Puri of Sirhind police station. But the Inspector Puri would not disclose anything. Eventually, the family found out that Charan Singh had already been killed in a faked encounter, which they had orchestrated in the night of the 20th of May. Amarjit Singh, son of Balam Singh of the village, who had been picked up from Nabha city on 20th evening, had also been killed. Formally, there had been no acknowledgement of either the detentions or the murders in the so-called encounter. The family could never verify what happened to the dead bodies.
Following Charan Singh's "enforced disappearance", the army authorities stopped sending his monthly pension. When his widow met the concerned officials in this connection, they told her to produce some evidence in the form of either a death certificate or a FIR about his abduction by the police. Following this, Kuldip Kaur accompanied by several village elders went to the Khanna police station to ask them to either register a FIR or to give some document to say that he had been killed. Khanna police refused. But they proposed to register a FIR to say that Charan is missing since May 17th when he left his home to visit his agricultural farm. They entered this report on 6 July 1995.
Subsequently, the Jagraon police has also sent some intermediaries to Kuldip Kaur to negotiate a compromise so that she would not legally pursue the matter. For this, they proposed to give her a substantial sum of money. The Jagraon police also engaged the services of the District Sainik Welfare Officer of Ludhiana, who sent a letter dated 22 April 98 to invite Kuldip Kaur to see him in his office to settle the matter.
In spite of financial hardship, Kuldip Kaur has so far resisted these pressures and inducements to compromise. She complains that the police not only killed her husband but also physically ruined her brother-in-law Nasib Singh. He is unable to do any work because of his brutal torture in the custody.

Case No. 2: Twenty-five years old Sukhmandar Singh, a soldier in the 113 Engineers Regiment of the Indian Army stationed at Nasirabad, was from a poor Mazhabi Sikh family of village Dalla under Jagraon subvision in Ludhiana district. He was unmarried, and looked after his seventy-five years old fathr Major Singh, his mother Surjit Kaur and his younger twenty years old brother Balvir Singh. Sukhmandar had no political affiliation, and had never been arrested before.
On 20 July 1992, he was coming to village Dalla on leave from his unit. On the way, the police had set up a check post near village Bhamipura where he was questioned and later taken to some unkwown place for further interrogation about his antecedents by SHO Bhag Singh Leehan. Sukhmandar "disappeared" and nothing could be ascertained about his fate in spite of all the efforts made by his father and young brother.
Jagraon police station refused to even register a FIR about his disappearance. Major Singh wrote to the army authorities requesting them to persuade the police officials responsible for his abduction to either release Sukhmandar or to produce him before a magistrate. He also demanded an independent inquiry. But in his knowledge, the army officials have not taken any action. Although Sukhmandar remains disappeared for seven years, the family members still hope that he might yet be alive.

Case No. 3: Forty years old Kashmir Singh from village Kuthiali under Dorangla police station in Gurdaspur district had retired as an officer of the Indian Air Force. Married to Piar Kaur with three children, Kashmir Singh also supported his ninety years old father Charan Singh. His monthly pension of Rs. 2200/-, supplemented by income from agriculture, took care of the family needs.
The area in which he lived was intensely affected by the militancy and anti-insurgency operations carried out by the State forces. The police used to reguarly raid houses and randomly pick-up people for interrogation to gain knowledge on suspected militants and their sympathizers. Kashmir Singh's house was also subjected to several such raids which harassed and inconvenienced the family. There was always the threat that some one picked up randomly for interrogation might not survive interrogation under torture.
Kashmir Singh led a delegation of village elders to IG Border Range, D. R. Bhatti to complain about intense harassment to normal people that resulted from arbitrary police actions and to find solutions to these problems. Bhatti suggested that they discuss their concerns SSP S. K. Goyal whom they met on 18 March 1993. While they were still discussing their concerns with the SSP, SHO Prabhjot Singh of Sadar Police Station and Sub-Inspector Malkiat Singh asked Kashmir Singh to come with them and dragged him away in front of the entire delegation, also including the head of the village council Jasbir Singh. The SSP told them that these officers would find out what to do about the problems Kashmir Singh had come to discuss.
Finding out that Kashmir Singh was being held at Dorangla police station, the village delegation went there, and managed to meet him in the lock-up on 20 March 93. The SHO said that Kashmir was required for further discussions, but would be released in couple of days. When the villagers went to the police station the next day, they were not allowed to see him.
Kashmir Singh was killed the same night. According to the FIR No. 32/93 dated 21 March 93 registered at Dorangla police station, three supposedly unidentified persons had been killed in an armed encounter with the police that occurred the previous night. Village elders found out that the other two shown to have been killed in the same action were Malook Singh and Gurmeet Singh.
The police took the bodies for post-mortem to the Civil Hospital in Gurdaspur where Kashmir Singh's family members and other villagers were already gathered. They recognized the body, and demanded that they be allowed to carry out the cremation. The police officials refused, and themselves burnt it as an unidentified body.
Kashmir Singh's eldest eighteen years old son Lakhwinder could not cope with the trauma of the incident that died a year later. The death has left no responsible male member in the family, as his brothers Gurbaksh, Manjit and Jagmohan are only 14, 9 and 7 years old. Their mother Piar Kaur demands a thorough inquiry, exemplary punishment to the guilty and just compensation.

Case No. 4: Satnam Singh was a twenty-eight years old baptized Sikh from an orthodox family of village Dhapei under Qadian police station in Batala subdivision of Gurdaspur district. He was married to Harpal Kaur, but had no children. As his father Sohan Singh had expired, and his younger brother Surjit Singh was an officer in the 55 Engineers Regiment of the Indian army, Satnam had the responsibility to manage the family's agricultural farm. His mother Chhindo and twenty-two years younger brother Baljit lived with him in the village.
As a baptized young Sikh, actively involved in Gurudwara's religious activities, Satnam was looked upon with suspicion by the local police officials who had picked him up regularly for interrogation. He had also been tortured for confessions.The police in the border districts had developed a routine of harassing the local young Sikhs, who were also the source for their regular income. Several times, the family had to pay extortion money to get him released from the illegal custody. The head of the village council was a retired Major of the Indian army and used to sympathize with the family's plight, especially because Satnam's younger brother was a serving officer of the Indian army. But his interventions were of no avail as it was a total "police raj". Over the years, his mother Chhindo had paid approximately Rs. 100,000/- to the police to get him out of the harm's way when they picked him for interrogation. But she could not afford to go on paying.
On advice from the village elders, Chhindo complained to the senior police officers including the SSP, the IG , other Civil Officers and the Deputy Commissioner of Gurdaspur. She met them with written representations and testimonials from the local people saying that Satnam had a good character and did not have any criminal associations. She also asked her second son Surjit to intercede on his behalf by involving his own superior officers of the army.
On 10 January 1991, Surjit submitted an application to the Deputy Commissioner of Gurdaspur through his Commanding Officer. The application gave a short history of his brother's harassment by the corrupt and ruthless police officials, and demanded action against them. Surjit's application also said that his entire salary was getting exhausted in paying the corrupt officials of Qadian. Copies of the application, endorsed by Surjit's Company Commander, were sent also to the District Magistrate and the SSP.
On 26 February 1991 afternoon, the Qadian police led by SHO Rajbir Singh, ASI Dilbag Singh, Gurnam Singh and others raided their house, located inside the agricultural farm by the side of an irrigation canal. Satnam was getting onions planted in a part of his fields. For this purpose, he had hired the labour of one Balwant Singh, son of Dara Singh of village Dhapei from his own village. The police officials took both of them into custody, and tied their hands to their backs. The officials had brought another young Sikh with them, whose hands were also tied in the like fashion. The police officials kicked the threee prisoners with their boots, and asked them to move deeper into the fields where a crop of sugarcane was standing. Chhindo and her daughter-in-law beseeched the police officers to have mercy on them, and not to do anything inhuman. The policemen physically hit both the women and forced them to stay back. When Chhindo tried to follow them in spite of her manhandling, one constable came back to kick her into the ground and to hold her back.
Satnam and the two others were moved to the side of the sugarcane and shot dead. Chhindo and Harpal Kaur were not allowed to go near the bodies. Soon the reinforcements arrived, and the policemen carried the bodies away. Because of the virtual house arrest, Chhindo and her daughter-in-law were not able to go after them. They do not know how, when and where the bodies were disposed of. The Punjabi Tribune, in its issue dated 14 May 1991, carried a detailed report on the incident, along with the background of Satnam's harrassment and the attempts by his soldier brother to intervene, which instigated the police to kill him in revenge.
Chhindo wrote to the Punjab governor to demand a judicial inquiry. But her representation has not even been acknowledged. She does not know the identity of the third person who was also killed along with Satnam and Balwant.

Case No. 5: Forty-two years old Mithu Singh from Kot Dunna village under Dhanaula police station in Barnala Subdivision of Sangrur district had taken premature retirement from the Indian army on medical grounds. He was married to Jasbir Kaur and had two sixteen and nine years old boys and one eleven years old daughter. He supplemented his monthly pension with income from agriculture. Mithu had no criminal record, and everyone in the village recognized him as a peace-loving and law-abiding person. However, his brother-in-law Naib Singh, his sister's husband, was a known militant. For this reason, the police kept a close watch on the family and had also picked up Mithu for interrogation.
Once in July 1991, SHO Baljinder Singh of Joga police station in Mansa district picked him up again for interrogation. He was tortured for information on Naib Singh, which he did not have. The village elders intervened, and Mithu was released after one week.
Early in the morning of 3 September 1991, a strong group of policemen from Joga police station in district Mansa, led by SHO Budh Singh, raided the house again. Entering the house, they started beating Mithu and later pushed him into a vehicle and went away.
Since then, Mithu's whereabouts are not known. The family members and village elders approached Jasbir Singh Sandhu, then SP (Operations) of Sangrur district with the plea to locate and release Mithu Singh as he was absolutely innocent. Sandhu said that Mithu would not be released until Naib Singh surrendered. Naib Singh was subsequently nabbed and killed in a faked encounter reported in 1992. But Mithu was not released. No one knows what happened to him, although the family suspects that the police has killed him in their custody and disposed of the body in some secret way.
With help from the village council, Mithu's wife Jasbir Kaur approached the Supreme Court of India for a writ of habeas corpus. Her petition No. 187 of 1993, dated 15 November 91 was argued by lawyers R. Venkataramani and S. M. Garg. The Punjab police argued that Mithu may have been abducted by the militants operating in that area. The court disposed of the petition with the direction, recorded on 20 March 95 - Record of Proceedings No. 584961 -, that the Punjab police had to investigate and trace out Jasbir's husband as was their duty under the law.
Under the direction of the court, Dhanaula police Station in Barnala subdivision of Sangrur district recorded a FIR No. 89 dated 05 October 93 under section 365 of IPC. However, no investigation has been carried out in the case since the policemen. Jasbir Kaur reports that she is unable to cope with the mental agony and the responsibility of bringing up all the children on her own.

Case No. 6: Fifty-five years old Ajit Singh from village Jama Rai under Tarn Taran subdivision of Amritsar district retired from the Indian army as a Lance-Naik, a rank of non-commissioned officer, in April 1979. He had joined the army immediately after the Chinese aggression in 1962, and had seen action in 1965 and 1971. Ajit came from a poor family with very little land. Following his retirement, Ajit took up a job as a security guard and gradually built a small dairy farm to supplement his income. In 1989, his nineteen years old son Gurdev Singh joined the Punjab police as a constable after completing the tenth standard of his school. First he was posted at Tarn Taran. Then he was transferred to Amritsar, where he used to get his posting on the day to day basis.
Two months after joining the police, Gurdev was afflicted with jaundice and became bed ridden. Ajit went to Amritsar where Gurdev 's immediate officer asked him to take his son back home and to bring him back when he recovered. Ajit Singh asked if his going away, so soon after joining the police, would not adversely affect his career. The officer told him not to worry. Gurdev reported back for duty after three months when his health was completely restored. All was well for the next year. In between, Gurdev used to come home on a few days of leave. He also got married to Amarjit Kaur.
In early April 1991, Gurdev took leave to be with his six months pregnant wife, whose brother Gurnam Singh s/o Jora Singh from Khara village in Tarn Taran was also visiting them. On 9 April 1991 afternoon, a large group of policemen raided the house. The house was crowded with many guests including Gurdev's brother-in-law, his uncle Karnail Singh, his father's sister's husband who lived in a neighboring village and was the elected head of its council. They were all drinking afternoon tea when the police force from Goindwal police station accompanied by the officers of the police post in Jama Rai raided the house.
Sub-Inspector Daya Singh and constable Madha Singh of Jama Rai police post caught hold of Gurdev and dragged him out of the house to a CRPF post that had been set up inside the village. Others officials dragged his brother-in-law Gurnam Singh. The policemen were beating Gurdev even as he was being dragged to the CRPF post. SHO Walia of Goindwal police station loudly announced that he would be taught a lesson, which he would never forget and invited all to watch. SHO Walia then kicked Gurdev repeated on his ribs before dragging him inside the CRPF post. Many village residents had by then gathered there. All heard Gurdev's loud screams as he was tortured inside the CRPF post. After some time, some policemen dragged Gurdev out and threw him in the backside of a jeep and went away to Fatehabad police post. Gurnam who had been spared the torture was also taken away, but was later shifted to Goindwal police station. He was allowed to go away late that evening.
The next day, one prominent person of the village Kabul Singh, also known as Khabbe Rajput, went to Goidwal police station to request SHO Walia to release Gurdev. Walia said that he would let him go after a day or two, but nothing happened. Kabul Singh met Walia several times and he vaguely repeated the promise.
On 15 April, Ajit Singh received a message to say that Gurdev has been transferred to Tarn Taran CIA interrogation center and that he might get killed if the police officials responsible for his interrogation are not immediately bribed. The message came from the father of another boy who had been transferred to Amritsar jail after a period of illegal detention at Tarn Taran CIA interrogation center, where he had seen Gurdev. The messenger said that Gurdev was physically in a bad shape. Ajit Singh was not wealthy and did not know how to raise a substantial amount of money for the bribe. He went to the office of SSP Ajit Singh Sandhu who started abusing him on hearing that he had come to plead for his son Gurdev. The SSP ordered his constables to make him stand in the scorching sun outside. So, he was dragged out and made to stand in the sun for one hour. He then asked the constables to tell the SSP that he was still pleading for his son. The constables advised him to drink some water and go back home. They also suggested that it was too late to rescue his son. The Punjabi words were: tu chala ja appne ghar aur ro pitt ke baith ja!
Ajit Singh had no choice but to go back home. He could not obtain any definite information on what happened to Gurdev. In the prevailing atmosphere of terror, he was unable to pursue the case and believes that his son had succumbed to torture. He has written to the army authorities to help a soldier, who had fought for India in many wars, in getting justice, but has not even received an acknowledgement.

Case No. 7: Twenty-five years old Harmanjit Singh, a Lance-Naik in the 3/6 Sikh regiment of the Indian army, is from Dhotian village under Sarhali police station in Tarn Taran subdivision of Amritsar district. In September 97, when we interviewed him, he had come on leave from his posting Kupwara in Kashmir. Harmanjit is also a witness to the illegal abduction and the custodial murder of his cousin brother Sukhdev Singh, which happened in December 1992. Sukhdev's father Bhan Singh, a small farmer with three acres of fragmented land, had died two years before the incident. Born in 1962, Sukhdev was the eldest of his four children. Two younger brothers Sarabjit and Dalbir were employed as truck drivers with a transport company in Bombay. His sister Sukhbir Kaur was married, and lived with her husband in Jama Rai village. Sukhdev was married to Vir Kaur with three sons, the youngest now being six years old. Eldest boy Malkiat was four years old when Sukhdev was abducted by the police.
Since the younger brothers were generally away as truck drivers, Sukhdev looked after the farming and also had several buffaloes and cows whose milk he sold for extra-income. He had no political affiliation, and no police record. The family responsibilities and chores of work kept him busy.
In the second week of November 1992, Harmanjit had came home on annual leave. That night he sat with Sukhdev, chatting into late hours about family matters. Sukhdev told him that the conditions in Punjab were improving and that he was doing well in his work. Early next morning, a group of eight or nine police men in a large Allwyn Nissan vehicle came to the village. Sukhdev Singh had just come out of the house with the intention to milk his buffaloes and cows. A man sitting in the police vehicle identified Sukhdev who was immediately grabbed and pushed into the vehicle. The policemen did not search the house. Vir Kaur saw that the policemen were taking her husband away. She rushed out and begged them to let him go. To bid for more time, she offered to make tea for all. But the officer in-charge of the group refused. Sukhdev Singh told her not to cry and that the police would not harm him as he had not done nothing wrong. She asked the policemen to tell her where they were taking her husband. The officer asked her to come to Sarhali police station.
Harmanjit had also witnessed the abduction. But did not think it wise to interfere. Immediately, Vir Kaur and some other members of the family went to Sarhali police station. On the way, they stopped at Naushera Pannua police post but Sukhdev Singh was not there. The policemen at the post also did not know anything about the abduction. Two constables went with them to Sarhali police station, where it was confirmed that the local police had not taken Sukhdev. The family did not know what to do.
Four or five days after the abduction, Sukhdev was again brought to the village in a Maruti van with dark tinted glasses. The car stopped just outside the house, and some policemen stepped out. It was three or four in the afternoon and Harmanjit was sitting on a cot outside reading a newspaper. Suspecting that the policemen had something to do with his cousin's abduction, he went up to the Maruti van, in which one officer, identified by others as ASI Budh Singh, was sitting. Sukhdev was also sitting in the van and looked very haggard, but there were no external injuries on his body. Some other young Sikhs from the village were also sitting in the van. Harmanjit recognized three of them: Bir Singh, son of Dara Singh, Tarsem Singh son of Mangal Singh and Bakshish Singh, son of Sohan Singh. Perhaps, the police had forced Sukhdev to implicate them in some way.
Harmanjit introduced himself to the officer. Bir Singh asked Harmanjit if he could give ASI Budh Singh a bottle of rum, which he had brought from his army canteen. Harmanjit gave him a bottle and asked where he was going to keep Sukhdev. Budh Singh asked him to reach Sarhali police station. Sukhdev did not open his mouth, but grimaced to suggest that the officer was lying. Sukhdev asked Harmanjit about his fields, which he prepared to sow wheat. Sukhdev wanted his cousin to help with the work. Harmanjit promised to do so. Satisfied with the bottle of rum, ASI Bhudh Singh went away with his prisoners.
Approximately ten days later, the family received a letter from Sukhdev who was apparently detained at Joga police station in Mansa district. He had managed to send the letter through a resident of the village who was visiting the police station in connection with his own work. The letter said that Budh Singh, in-charge of Joga police station in Mansa district, was responsible for his abduction and illegal custody. Sukhdev requested the family to negotiate his release through a relative of Budh Singh, one Gurbachan Singh of Harike, a fish contractor. Harmanjit himself read the letter, which has now been lost.
The family was still trying to get in touch with Gurbachan, Budh Singh's relative, when on 6 December 92 they saw Jagbani, the Punjabi newspaper, which reported that killing of three militants near Manbidiyan village in Mansa district. The newspaper said that the killings occured in an incident of armed combat between the militants and the police force. Two slain militants were identified as Resham Singh Thande, Chief of the Khalistan Liberation Force and Jagwinder Singh Fauji from Dhotian village. The report said that the third militant was unidentified. The newspaper report carried the photopraphs of the slain militants. One of the photographs was Sukhdev's. He was described as an unidentified terrorist killed in the action.
The dead body was not returned to the family, which also does not know how, when and where was the cremation was carried out. In the prevailing atmosphere of terror, the family could not do anything to pursue the matter. Harmanjit went back to Kupwara, to fight the separatist insurgency in the State. He did not even report the case to his CO from the fear that suspicion of association with supposed militants would be bad for his career. But he wants justice. If there would ever be any official inquiry, he would testify. Harmanjit's regimental address is 3391968 Lance Naik Harmanjit Singh, Tikamgarh FPL 3/6 Sikh regiment c/o 56 APO.

Case No. 8: Fifty-seven years old Harbhajan Kaur was the second wife of Ajaib Singh from Janian village under Jandiala Guru police station in Amritsar district. Ajaib Singh did not have male children from his first marriage. Four sons were born from the wedlock: Harjinder Singh, Balwinder Singh, Rajinder Singh and Sukhjinder Singh alias Sukha. The eldest son was born in 1966 and the youngest Sukhjinder Singh in 1972. The second son Balwinder did not have a strong physical constitution like his elder brother Harjinder who became a good boxer.
In October 1986, Harjinder and Rajinder joined the Indian army at the Sikh regimental center at Ramgarh in Bihar. Lieutenant Colonel Kashmir Singh Sandhu, the Commanding Officer of the regimental center, was a distant relative of Harbhajan Kaur. Harjinder and Rajinder are now Junior Commissioned Officers, posted at Dibrugarh in Assam, itself a disturbed area. Both are married.
Balwinder, the second son with a weak physical constitution, stayed at home and helped in the agricultural work. He was also married, with a son born in 1992.
The youngest son Sukhjinder Singh, alias Sukha was not good in school and wanted to join his maternal uncle Prithpal Singh who had a prosperous tranaport company called Assam-Bombay Carrier Transport, based in Gauhati. In December 1989, eighteen year old Sukhjinder Singh went to Gauhati to become an apprentice truck driver in his uncle's company. His mother Harbhajan Kaur was happy that he too would be away from a bleeding Punjab. Although Sukhjinder did not have any formal political association, he had taken part in the election campaign of Simranjit Singh Mann, a successful parliamentary candidate from Tarn Taran, in the winter of 1989. Harbhajan did not want him to do anything with politics, which she said only bred trouble.
Ajaib Singh, now old, had been a hard working farmer. Nine acres of irrigated land yielded profitable harvests and he had already built a good house. Harbhajan and her daugher-in-laws helped Balwinder with the agricultural work. There was little to complain about the rough and tumble of life until the middle of February 1990, when Sukhjinder returned to his village to attend the marriage of a girl in the neighbourhood. The two families had close friendly relations.
Mother was very happy at his return. Sukhjinder attended to the household work, helped his brother in repairing the store house for farm products, and planted carrots on a piece of land, besides taking part and organizing various things for the marriage. After the marriage ceremony, he came back home. The next evening, a large police force raided the village under SHO Swaran Singh of Jandiala Guru police station when several young men of the village, including Sukhjinder, had been hanging around the market place. Young men of the village who knew the circumstances of Punjab immediately dispersed. But Sukhjinder was fearless and did not see any reason to run away. The officer leading the police force called him up and asked to identify himself. After some initial questioning, he was forced to get into the police vehicle and taken away. Harbhajan did not know anything about it, but began to worry when Sukhjinder did not return home.
She came to know about the police raid after it became very dark. Immediately, she went to the head of the village council for advice. Sarpanch Satwant Pal Singh asked her not to get agitated and suggested that her son might have gone to some friend's place to spend the night. This was not his habit, and Harbhajan was very worried. But she could not do anything. She did not even know the identity of the policemen who had raided the village. The next day, some village elders led by the head of the village council met SHO Swaran Singh who denied the custody. Harbhajan Kaur did not know what to do. Villagers feared the police, and did not wish to take active part in complaining or agitating.
On 3 March 1990, newspapers carried a report about the killing of four militants in a supposed armed encounter with the police, reported to have occured the previous night. The report also carried photographs of all the killed. Sukhjinder's photograph was also there. But he was mentioned as an unidentified militant. The other three were identified as Bhupinder Singh Phula, son of Sajjal Singh of Jandiala village; Ranjit Singh, son of Harbhajan Singh, also of Jandiala, and Dilbagh Singh Bagga. The armed encounter had allegedly taken place near a village called Jahangir under Tarn Taran.
The police carried out the cremation at Tarn Taran without informing the family. Harbhajan came to know about it from the parents of the other boys who later contacted her. Harbhajan could not take any action. Her elder sons in the army were in Assam. Her husband was very old and could not do any running around.
Sukhjinder's abduction and his reported murder as an unidentified militant made a destructive impact on his elder brother Balwinder, who became inconsolable and bed-ridden. Hospitalization at Guru Nanak Dev hospital in Amrisar did not help, and Balwinder died on 28 January 94, one day before his wife gave birth to their second child, a daughter named Gaganjot Kaur.
Ajaib Singh also could not cope with the shock. He fell in a deep depression, became more and more silent and has now altogether given up talking. Now there is no one to look after the agriculture. Animals have been sold. The land has been rented out. Harbhajan looks after the widow of Balwinder Singh, their young children, and her old silent husband.

Case No. 9: Chanchal Singh is a ninety years old resident of village Naurangabad in Tarn Taran subdivision of Amritsar district. As a small farmer with six acres of land to look after eight children, Chanchal had a tough life. His eldest surviving son is now fifty-two years old. His youngest son Sukhdev Singh was a soldier in the Indian army and was twenty-seven years old when the Punjab police abducted and killed him. The case is bizarre and highlights the manner in which the contextualization of Punjab has succeeded in desensitizing the State institutions, including the judiciary, to the elementary principles of justice and due process.
Sukhdev Singh finished his higher secondary school and joined the armoured regiment of the Indian army in 1984, the year of the Operation Blue Star. Eventually posted at Ferozepur, Sukhdev later married Darshan Kaur and had one six months old daughter when the police abducted him in July 1990. After his marriage, Sukhdev used to come home once in six months, on leave. Few times, he over stayed the leave, for domestic reasons, as he did also in July 1990. Chanchal Singh later found out that the army authorities had issued a warrant for his production.
On 26 July 1990 evening, a team of police officers from Tarn Taran led by SHO Jagdev Singh and ASI Gurcharan Singh of Sadar police station raided the house and took Sukhdev into custody. A CRPF unit of fifteen or twenty constables was with them. Sukhdev was forced into a police jeep along with Balwinder Singh, son of Ajit Singh, a resident of Naurangabad and the elected head of the village council. Balwinder was a ninth grade student and only fifteen years old.
It was already dark and nothing could be done to trace them that evening. The next morning, Chanchal Singh and Ajit Singh, along with a large number of village elders, went to the Sadar police station where the SHO told them that the boys would be released after their interrogation, possibly the next day. The delegation also included members of the village council and Shavinder Singh Bajwa who had a printng press in the main bazar of Tarn Taran. They regularly visited the police station for the next three days, but the boys were not released. On 29th, the police officers refused to meet them.
On 30 July 1990, Chanchal and Ajit sent telegrams about the illegal arrest and detention to the higher authorities, including the Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court, beseeching them to intervene. The telegrams mentioned that Sukhdev had over-stretched his leave from the army whose officers had probably issued a warrant for his production. In that case, the police should be instructed to return him to his unit. Chanchal Singh's telegram recounted that when Sukhdev stayed beyond his leave on two previous occasions, he himself had gone along to produce him before his unit. On 31 July, they again sent detailed petitions addressed to the Governor, the Chief Secretary, the Home Secretary and the DGP Punjab. A copy of the letters, dispatched under registered post, was sent to Ajit Singh Bains, Chairman of the PHRO.
Meanwhile, the High Court of Punjab treated the telegram sent by Chanchal Singh as a petition for a writ of habeas corpus and sent notices to the Punjab government. In response, SHO Jagdev Singh filed an affidavit to say that although both Sukhdev and Balwinder were required in connection with several cases, they could not be apprehended by the police so far. The affidavit mentioned that the police had initiated the proceedings under sections 82 and 83 of the Criminal Procedure Code to obtain a declaration that Sukhdev Singh was a proclaimed offender. The proceedings were pending in the court of Subdivisional Judicial Magistrate H. S. Sandhu of Tarn Taran. The police officials also managed to get an affidavit from Balwinder's father Ajit Singh, which said that his son had not been picked up by the police and that Sukhdev had for long been absconding from the army.
On the basis of these affidavits, the High Court dismissed the petition with the observation that no further action was called for. The order of the High Court was delivered by Judge A. P. Chaudhary on 25 February 1991.
Chanchal Singh claims that he had no knowledge of the proceedings under sections 82 and 83 of the Cr.P.C, which the police claimed to have initiated against Sukhdev. In any case, no notice of these proceedings had been sent to him. Chanchal Singh thinks that these proceedings are afterthoughts, aimed to cover up the illegal abduction that had been witnessed by the entire family.
Ajit Singh, who denied the abduction of Balwinder under police pressure, had earlier been a signatory to the telegrams and the petitions which had been sent to various authorities on 30th and 31st of July 1990. He had also gone with the village delegation, comprising more than fifty persons, to the Sadar police station in Tarn Taran on 27th, 28th and 29th of July when the officers said that the boys would be released after interrogation. The High Court should at least have asked the army authorities as they had also issued a warrant for his production. It was also the duty of the army officials to intervene and save one of their serving personnel from the custodial murder.
But ninety years old Chanchal Singh was helpless. Sukhdev's father-in-law Dayal Singh from Dassuwal village in Patti subdivision of Amritsar made his own inquiries. He met some senior police officers who confirmed that Sukhdev had been killed and that the family should perform the last rites.

Case No. 10: Dr. Tarlochan Singh Walia is a private medical practioner from Adda Umarpura of Batala, in district Gurdaspur. Major Sudhneet Singh Walia was his eldest of son. Sudhneet's younger brother is a lawyer practising in Chandigarh. Their mother retired as the head mistress of a government High School.
Sudhneet joined the Indian army in September 1974 and took voluntary retirement in March 1989 from the rank of a Major. After retirement, Sudhneet settled down in the township of Mohali in Ropar district, in the outskirts of Chandigarh, along with his wife and two minor sons. Apparently, he also maintained very close contact with the Intelligence Wing of the Army under the direct supervision of Col. S. T. Manimala, Commandant of the Liason Unit in the Western Command Head Quarters stationed at Chandi Mandir.
Colonel Manimala and Sudhneet visited each other very frequently. Sudhneet also went on long tours in a car provided by Col. Manimala. By all indications, Sudneet was still working for the army intelligence on covert missions.
On 26 May 1992, Sudhneet left for Delhi after telling his wife that he was going to Bangkok on an official mission. Col. Manimala had arranged his passport, his visa and the air-tickets.
The family began to worry and contacted Col. Manimala when after four weeks there was no news from Sudhneet. Manimala assured the family that he was on an official mission and would come back after completing it. Sudhneet did not come back, nor did he send any message.
On 1 September 1992, Dr. Walia visited Major Balbir Sangha and Col. Manimala at the Army Command Head Quarters at Chandimandir. They told him that Sudhneet had gone to Delhi with the intention to leave for Bangkok. But while he was still in Delhi, Intelligence Bureau officials arrested him for interrogation on some sensitive matters. Col. Manimala, however, asked Dr. Walia not to worry as his son was a very intelligent officer and was also helping the government on important matters involving national security.
Col. Manimala also advised Dr. Walia to contact Brigadier Srivastava, then posted at the Army Head Quarters in Delhi. Dr. Walia called him on telephone immediately after his meeting with Major Balbir Sangha. Srivastava told him that as he was leaving on an official tour, he would be able to help only after two weeks. In the third week of September 92, Srivastava confirmed that Sudhneet had been arrested by the IB. Dr. Walia wrote to Srivastava requesting him to trace his son and to save him from further calamities.
On 4 June 1993, Dr. Walia met the DGP Punjab on hearing from Col. Manimala that his son's custody had been transferred to the Punjab police who were now interrogating him. DGP Gill gave him an appointment, however only his personal assistant Mr. Sethi met him and got the details of his complaint. Sethi promised to get back after making the necessary inquiries. Not hearing from Sethi on the progress of his inquiries, Dr. Walia called him on 21 June. Sethi said that his complaint has been marked for inquiry to the Crime Branch.
On 23 August 93, one Sub-Inspector Sohan Singh from the Civil Lines Police Station in Batala called Dr. Walia and asked him to come down to the police station to give details of his complaint. Dr. Walia complied. Five months later, on 1 February 94, one ASI Gehal Singh from the Civil Lines Police Station in Batala came to him to ask for another report on the case. On 6 April 1994, Dr. Walia again wrote a long petition to the DGP Punjab, reminding him of his earlier visit to his office and his dealings with his personal assistant Sethi. The petition was not acknowledged.
On 4 January 95, Dr. Walia wrote a long petition to the Governor of Punjab B.K.N. Chibber, whom he had already met on the 20 June 1993 when he was still serving as the Lt. General of the Indian army. Chibber had then promised to personally investigate the case, and to inform him about the outcome, however nothing came out of this. In his 4 January 95 petition, Dr. Singh reminded him of the promise he had made during their earlier meeting and also of his 2 January announcement as the Governor of Punjab to personally interfere in getting justice against atrocities, if supported with evidence were brought to his notice. When no action followed, Dr Walia sent him yet another letter on 3 August 95.
On 18 December 95, Dr. Walia sent a long petition to then Prime Minister of India P. V. Narsimha Rao, giving the full background of the case and also mentioning the information he had received from Col. Manimala and Brigadier Srivastava. The petition said that after his interrogation at the Red Fort in Delhi, Sudhneet had been transferred to the custody of the CRPF Mess in Chandigarh. Thereafter, he was taken to Patiala, Faridkot and the Joint Interrogation Center at Amritsar. The letter also cited Brigadier Srivastava and Col. Manimala's conversations with DGP Gill and ADGP (Intelligence) O. P. Sharma, who said that Major Sudhneet was very useful to them and would be released after he completed his missions. The petition asked for an independent inquiry at the highest level.
Prime Minister's Office acknowledged the petition with a letter dated 18 December 95, No. 16/20/95-PMP-II/181347, under the signature of I. B. Sharma, which said that the complaint has been forwarded to the Secretary, Ministry of Defence for appropriate action. Dr. Walia does not know what action, if any, followed.
Several politicians, including Member of Parliament Bhupinder Singh Mann, former member of Parliament Kirpal Singh, and Member of Legislative Assembly from Batala Jagdish Sahny also wrote letters to the successive Prime Ministers, Home Ministers and the Defence Ministers. However, Dr. Walia has not received any coherent explanation on what happened to his son. Findings of any inquiry, if held, have not been made known to the family. Sudhneet 's wife and their two young children, remain traumatised, as they do not know whether he is alive or dead.
The High Court has not taken any action on writ petition filed before the High Court so far.

DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY:
Case No. 1: Forty-two years old Gurdeep Singh was a Jat farmer from Village Rumana Chak under Majitha police station of Amritsar district. He was married with a twelve years old son Amrindervir Singh and a ten year old daughter Ranjit Kaur, but was also responsible for the care of his parents in their late sixties who stayed with him.
Suspected of involvement with the militant build-up after the Operation Blue Star, the police began to harass him soon after June 1984. He was regularly picked up and tortured in illegal custody. Fed up by the harassments, Gurdeep went away from his home.
His younger brother Paltej Singh, who was a college graduate, also went away from the house for similar reasons.
The police presumed that they had become terrorists and began to interrogate and humiliate other family members. Paltej was apprehended and killed in what the family describes as a faked armed encounter staged in Gurgaon district of Haryana on 8 July 1989. All household goods and the money belonging to Sarbjit Kaur, Paltej's wife employed as a police constable in Delhi, were confiscated. Between sixty to seventy thousand rupees had been lost.
Sarbjit was also arbitrarily dismissed from the service without the benefit of her dues. She had been married to Paltej only for five months when he got killed, and had given birth to a son after his death.
Gurdeep was arrested on 14 June 91 by the Delhi police and produced before a Magistrate in the Tis Hazari court on 10 July 91, after nearly twenty-five days of illegal detention. The same day, he was taken to Hoshiarpur in Punjab by Inspector Joginder Singh alias Ghora and handed over to the custody of Mahilpur police station under the supervision of SHO Harbans Singh who obtained Gurdeep's police remand upto 14 July 91. Gurdeep was lodged in the lock-up of Garhshankar police station although his remand for interrogation had been obtained by Mahilpur police. It was subsequently explained that the building of Manilpur police station was under renovation.
On 14 July 91, Gurdeep's remand was extended for one more day. The same night, he was shown to have escaped from the police custody by breaking out of the lock up in Garhshankar police station. Since then his whereabouts are not known.
The family maintains that the story of his escape from the Garhshankar police station is false and that he was actually killed in the custody.
On 29 July 1991, Gurdeep's thirty-nine years old brother Paljit Singh along with his friend Gurnam Singh went to search for him, as they did not believe the report about his escape from the police custody. In stead of discovering Gurdeep, both of them disappeared. Gurnam is the son of Ajaib Singh from village Kotla Sultan Singh under Majitha police station in Amritsar district.
Paljit, married to Amarjit Kaur with two young sons, used to be a constable with the Delhi police. He was dismissed from the police service, without any legal notice, after his brother Paltej got killed in a supposed armed encounter with the Haryana police on 8 July 1989. He did not even receive his dues from the Provident Fund although he had been dismissed without any legal basis and without an opportunity to state his case. There was also no criminal case registered against him. That Paljit was also captured and killed by the police illegally became evident when in October 1991, SP (Operations) of Hoshiarpur H. R. Banga came to the village and openly boasted about having killed all the three brothers, namely Paltej, Gurdeep and Paljit. He wanted the villagers to learn from the example and purge their own sympathies for the militant cause.
Continuously for five years from 1989, the police did not allow the family to work their agricultural fields, and destroyed whatever crops grew on them.
The police also took away the tube-well motors to prevent them from irrigating the fields. Their livestock suffered due to insufficient fodder.
Sixty years old Bakshish Kaur was unable to bear the successive loss of her sons and the subsequent plight of their widows and her grandchildren. She died on 2 January 1998 from a heart attack.

Case No. 2: Thirty-five years old Baljit Singh, son of Mohan Singh, was an employee of the Electricity Board who lived in village Chachowali under police station Kathu Nangal in Amritsar district. His was a large extended family comprising his old parents, his wife Kashmir Kaur, three children, two younger brothers Kulwinder Singh and Jaswinder Singh, Kulwinder Singh's wife Paramjit Kaur and their two children.
Thirty years old Kulwinder was a driver and had a monthly income of Rs. 4000. His children Baljinder Kaur and Malkiat Singh are eight and six years old. Jaswinder was unmarried and did odd jobs,also worked on the small one acre family farm.
Jaswinder had been under police surveillance since 1985 and had also been arrested once under TADA, but was released on bail one year later. After his release, Jaswinder took up a job in a garage, an automobile workshop, and tried to live a normal life. But the police continued to harass him, often raiding the house, taking him in illegal custody and interrogating him under torture. These operations were carried by Kathunangal police. Finally in 1988, Jaswinder was so fed up that he left the house and joined the ranks of Sikh militants.
For the same reasons, his cousin Gurmej, son of his uncle Sulakhan Singh, had earlier became a fugitive. Under the pressure of the police, his father Sulakhan produced him before the SHO of Ram Bagh police station who arrested him under TADA. He was released on bail after six months. However, the police continued to harrass him and compelled him to again become an outlaw. This was a disaster for the family as Gurmej, a matriculate, managed a Finance Company, which brought a monthly income of more than Rs. 6000/-. He had additional income from farming. Gurmej was married to Manjit Kaur with a six years old son.
After Jaswinder and Gurmej absconded from their homes, the police repression against other family members intensified. After every terrorist incident in the area, Kathunangal police officers would raid their houses and pick them up for interrogation under torture. Jaswinder's brothers Baljit and Kulwinder, their father Mohan Singh, their uncles Sulakhan Singh and Satnam Singh, and four other uncles - husbands of their father's sisters -, their children and their in-laws, had all been picked up on number of occasions to be held under illegal custody for days together and inhumanly tortured for information on whereabouts of the fugitives.
On 11 August 1992 night, a large police party in two Allwyn Nissan vehicles led by SHO Dilbag Singh and ASI Joginder Singh entered the house by scaling the walls. It was drizzling and the family members were sleeping. While SHO Dilbag, along with one team of policemen, went to another house in the village to arrest Satnam Singh, son of Surain Singh, a resident of the village, ASI Joginder Singh asked Baljit and Kulwinder to get dressed to go with them to the police station. ASI Joginder drove the two brothers to their farmhouse in the outskirts of the village where their uncles Sulakhan Singh and Satnam Singh were also taken into custody. All the five were taken to Kathunangal police station, and locked up in one room. To avoid the confusion of names, we shall once again list the five prisoners with the names of their fathers:
[1] Baljit son of Mohan Singh, [2] Kulwinder son of Mohan Singh, [3] Satnam Singh son of Surain Singh, [4] Satnam Singh son of Bhagwan Singh and [5] Sulakhan Singh.
After about half an hour, one ASI Ajit Singh drove them all to the Mall Mandi joint interrogation center and locked them up in a room along with fifty or sixty others, already in detention.
Two hours later, both Satnam s/o of Bhagwan Singh and Satnam s/o Surain Singh were taken out of the room and, as it became known later, locked up separately in Jandiala Guru and Lopoke police stations.
The other three, namely Sulakhan, Baljit and Kulwinder were being continuously interrogated by DSP Balbir Singh Bapu, in-charge of the Interrogation Center and retired DSP Gurmail Singh Bai, who had again been recruited as the SPO. The interrogation focussed on the whereabouts of Jaswinder, and Gurmej.
Four days later, on 15 August 1992 evening around 7 p.m., the police nabbed Gurmej s/o Sulakhan Singh outside the Majitha town where he had gone to see his maternal uncle. He was first shot and then administered with poison. The body was then carried to Mal Mandi joint interrogation center, where his father Sulakhan, and his cousins Baljit and Kulwinder were asked to identify the body. At this time, SSP Paramjit Singh Gill and DSP Raj Kumar were also along. After the identification, the police cremated the body without informing the family.
After that night, the interrogation of Sulakhan, Baljit and Kulwinder became more severe. They were brutally tortured under electric shocks, their legs were pulled apart and pressed under heavy rollers. The interrogators wanted them to reveal the whereabouts of Kulwinder and to reveal the locations in which they had hidden arms and ammunitions. SSP Paramjit Singh Gill and SPO Gurmel Singh Bai led these interrogation sessions.
The three of them were held in the same room till the night of the 27th. The police also continued to raid the village house, probably hoping to nab Jaswinder. On the night of 27 October 92, a large group of policemen surrounded the house and started firing heavily towards the house. Later they broke open the doors and damaged the walls. They removed all valuables including a television set, ceiling fans and other household goods, furniture, beddings, even clothes and utensils. The loss is estimated at Rs. 200,000. Fortunately, due to the police fear, the family had slept at a neighbor's house that night when the police blazed and plundered it. The next morning, the family and other villagers witnessed the destruction but fearing reprisal could not take any action.
The same night, after 11 P.M., Baljit and Kulwinder were taken out of the lock-up in the Mal Mandi interrogation center. When Sulakhan asked the police why they were taking his nephews out, they said that there were instructions to segregate them. The policemen who took them away were armed with AK 47 rifles. That was the last time, Baljit and Kulwinder were seen alive. The family could not verify if the two brothers were killed the same night, or later.
The same night,the police raided the houses of many relatives to pick them up. Baljit's maternal uncle Bhan Singh, s/o Gurdit Singh was arrested from his village Rangar Nangal in Batala subdivision of Gurdaspur district. Bhan Singh has since disappeared.
The police also raided Baljit's sister's house at village Rasulpur with the intention to pick up her husband Kashmir Singh who,was not home at the time. The police also raided the houses of two absconding militants, Gulab Singh at village Abdal in Amritsar district and Narinder Singh at village Vegowal. As Gulab and Narinder were not found in their houses, the police fired on the houses, burnt and plundered them.
On 5 September 1992, Sulakhan was released from the Mal Mandi interrogation center at the intervention of Ranjit Singh from Wariam Nangal, a sitting MLA, whom the family had approached for help. Sulakhan was taken to Rambagh police station where Wariam himself came to escort him home.
Few days later, Satnam, who had also been tortured severely at Mall Mandi Interrogation Center, was also released.
But Baljit and Kulwinder could not be liberated in spite of interventions from such politicians as Ranjit Singh, MLA, and Raghunandan Lal Bhatia, who had become a central minister. Telegrams regarding their abduction and illegal detention were sent to the Sessions Judge of Amritsar, the Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court and also the In-charge of the CBI at Sainik Rest House in Amritsar. However nothing happened.
On 9 January 1993, Punjab newspaper Jagbani and Ajit reported the alleged killing of Jaswinder, the brother of Baljit and Kulwinder in an armed encounter with the police. No one in the family was in a position to verify the details. They could not find out when, by whom and where Jaswinder had been taken into custody.
Their grandfather Lachhman Singh died under trauma in the next days. His father Mohan Singh was also unable to bear the disappearance and the killing of all his three sons. Three months later, Mohan Singh also died. No male member is left in the family to look after the widows and their six children.
Also, there is no source of income, as the family possessed only one acre of land which has now been rented out on contract.
The people who have disappeared and/or were killed in this episode are:
Baljit Singh and Kulwinder Singh, and their maternal uncle Bhan Singh is missing; their brother Jaswinder Singh and cousin Gurmej Singh have also been killed.

Case No. 3: Twenty-one years old Manjinder Singh was the only son of Mukhtar Singh and Sukhminder Kaur who, along with their six daughters, lived in Gagrewal village under Verowal police station in Khadur Sahib subdivision of Amritsar district. Manjinder was married to Kuldeep Kaur and had a one year old daughter Tajinder Deep Kaur.
Manjinder did not have any criminal background and had never been detained or interrogated by the police. After passing the Higher Secondary School examination in 1986, Manjinder joined the jail department as a constable. Four months after joining the jail service, Manjinder got married to Kuldeep on 24 December 1990.
Eight days after the marriage, his father Mukhtar Singh, a well known and respected figure in the area, died suddenly after vomiting blood. The sudden death of his father compelled Manjinder to give up the jail service, and to look after the family occupation of farming.
On 25 September 1991, Manjinder went with his mother in a bus to Khadoor Sahib, where they alighted around 12 noon. Immediately, some policemen in uniforms, whom the mother could not identify, pounced on him and pushed him inside a jeep without a number license plate, then drove away to some unknown destination.
Mother Sukhminder came back to the village and informed the village elders, including the head of the village council Dial Singh, about the abduction. As it was already dark, they promised to make inquiries the next day, when a delegation went and met SHO Swaran Singh and ASI Teg Bahadur Singh of Khadoor Sahib police station. They denied having taken Manjinder into custody, but pointed out that police from some other district might have picked him up, specifically, suspecting the Kapurthala police.
Members of the family then went to Bhulath and Kapurthala police stations to make the inquiries, which did not yield any information. Following the disappointment, they met SSP Narinderpal Singh of Tarn Taran who again said that Kapurthala police might have taken him away. Unfortunatley, their attempts to locate Manjinder did not yield results.
Ten days after the abduction, a large police force that arrived in three vehicles raided the house.Manjinder's mother Sukhminder and his wife Kuldeep were not home, as they had gone to visit their respective parents. Manjinder was also along with the raiding police party.
First the police searched the house, then they plundered it. All the household goods, trunk loads of clothing, even bedsteads were taken away. The loss is estimated to be more than Rs. 130,000/-. After removing all the items from the house, the police thrashed Manjinder, who was already in a bad shape from custodial torture, publicly before the gathering of villagers even as he abjectly pleaded to be spared. He was killed the same night in an orchestrated armed encounter that was reported to have taken place on Fatehabad/Amritsar road. The dead body was not returned to the family.
Mother Sukhwinder, who has sent this complaint, hold ASI Teg Bahadar Singh of Khadur Sahib police station and SHO Swaran Singh of Verowal police station responsible for her son's illegal abduction and murder. She also complains of acute mental depression. She pleads for financial assistance and other facilities for the welfare of her widowed daughter-in-law and the upbringing of their seven years old minor daughter.

Case No. 4: Thirty-years old Amarjit Singh, twenty-four years old Sahab Singh and sixteen years old Angrez Singh were brothers, born in a poor landless Mazhabi Sikh family of Gagrewal village under police station Verowal in Khadur Sahib subdivision of Amritsar district. All the brothers worked as casual labourers, doing whatever work they could find. Their sixty years old father Dara Singh was not keeping very well, and could not do much work. The brothers, whose combined income was approximately Rs. 4000/- a month, looked after their father and mother Piar Kaur.
Amarjit was married to Balwinder, and had one thirteen years old daughter Harpreet Kaur. Sahab Singh and his wife Raj Kaur had two children: Eight years old Jaspal Singh and six years old Mandeep Kaur. The brothers were also responsible for their twenty-two years old sister Lakhwinder Kaur, who was yet unmarried.
Apart from working as casual laborers, the brothers also distilled alcohol at home, prohibited under the law, which they sold to supplement their income. The practice was very common in the area, especially among landless Mazhabi Sikhs and was lucrative not only to the distillers but also to the police, which regularly collected protection amount to overlook the illicit trade. Amarjit, Sahab and Angrez also regularly paid hush money to the Verowal police who, nevertheless, registered few cases under the Excise Law against both Amarjit and Sahab to put pressure on them to pay regularly.
Meanwhile, the Sikh militants made a call for abstinence and threatened reprisals if people still indulged in the vice. From the fear of the Sikh militant vengeance, the brothers decided to give up the business altogether. However, the Verowal police did not like their decision to quit the illicit trade. The decision not only showed the Sikh militant influence, it also took away their monthly money. So, the police began to harass them again suggesting that their decision not to engage in distillation and sale of alcohol showed militant links. The police began to regularly raid their house, take them in illegal custody and torture them. Harassed by all this, both Amarjit and Sahab Singh began to live with their in-laws; Amarjeet at village Biharipur and Sahab Singh in village Talwandi in Amritsar district. Only sixteen years old Angrez, being unmarried, stayed in the village to look after the old parents.
Village Gagrewal is situated on the banks of river Beas in district Amritsar, the other side of the river being in district Kapurthala. A police post named Khall belonging to the Kapurthala police was located right in front of the hovel in which the family of Amarjit lived. Joga Singh, incharge of this police post, began to raid the house, as also the Verowal police, to find out where the brothers had gone. There was also a police post at Gagrewal under Verowal.
On 13th Maghar 1990, (28 November 1990?), Joga of Khall police post abducted young Angrez and tortured him under custody until he revealed that Sahab Singh had moved to his in-laws in Talwandi village. After Angrez gave this information, he was asked by the constables of the police post to go away, later described as escape from the custody which, in the first place, had been illegal. Following his release, parents of Angrez Singh asked him to go away to Baroda in Gujarat State to save himself from the constant police harassment.
Early morning of 14 Maghar 1990, DSP Amar Singh Chahal and SI Tirath Singh from the Kapurthala CIA staff, and SI Joga Singh incharge of Gagrewal police post raided the house of Sahab's in-laws at Talwandi village, where he was staying. The police officials took him and his father-in-law Dalbir Singh into custody in the presence of several relatives including his wife Raj Kaur. Sahab was taken to Police Post of Gagrewal and Dalbir Singh to Kapurthala.
Earlier that morning, on 14 Maghar 1990, SI Joga Singh, SI Tirath Singh and constable Pehalwan had raided the house of Hazura Singh in village Gagrewal, across the river Beas, and had taken two of his sons Sukhraj and Tarsem Singh into custody. They were Sahab's cousins.
These abductions had taken place in front of several relatives who were told that they should come with Rs. 30,000 to Gagrewal police post if they wished to get Sukhraj released. Later that day, Sahab's wife Raj also returned to village Gagrewal to inform her father-in-law Dara Singh about the raid of Talwandi village and the arrest of Sahab and her father Dalbir. But Dara Singh was so scared of the police that he did not go to them to make inquiries.
SI Joga Singh released Dalbir Singh from Gagrewal police post after telling him that both Sukhraj and Sahab Singh had been killed and that their family members should carry out the last rites. Although, no relative has seen Sahab's dead body, he is presumed killed. Sukhraj's brother Tarsem was released after ten days. Sukhraj's wife Sukhwinder went away from the house, deserting her eleven years old daughter Ranjit Kaur and nine years old son Avtar Singh who have since been living as orphans.
Angrez lived in Baroda till early July 1992, when he returned to Punjab. First he went to his sister Lakhwinder Kaur at Jandiala Guru and then to another sister at village Ema, near Bir Baba Budha. From there he went to Rayya Mandi, on the way to his village, where he met a woman from his neighbourhood. This woman from his village Chhindo, wife of Harbans Singh, was accompanied with another woman named Kamla, wife of Bakshish Singh of Fatehabad village. Angrez was acquainted with her also. Angrez told them he was on the way to his village.
Around twelve noon, Angrez got abducted by DSP Amar Singh Chahal while he was getting his wrist watch repaired in a shop near the bus stand, still in Rayya Mandi. In the evening, Chhindo and Kamla went to Angrez's house in Gagrewal and told his parents that they had met him at Rayya Mandi in the afternoon when he was on his way home. His parents got worried when Angrez did not return home till late in the evening. The next morning, Dara Singh and other village elders went to Rayya Mandi and found out the details of Angrez's abduction from the owner of the watch shop where his suitcase was still lying. Immediately, they took a bus to Kapurthala and met DSP Amar Singh Chahal at his CIA staff office. The DSP admitted Angrez's custody and promised to release him after his interrogation. But Angrez was never released.
On 20 Asharh, 1992 -(5 August 92)-, a group of officers from Kapurthala police under DSP Chahal raided the house of Harbans Singh in Hassanpur village under Batala police station where Baldev Singh, son of Bhajan Singh of Gagrewal village and a relative, had come to attend a marriage. Baldev Singh was Angrez's cousin brother, his father's sister's son. During the raid, Angrez was also along with the police team. Baldev was taken into custody in front of several relatives.
Two days after this incident of abduction, newspapers reported that Angrez Singh, son of Dara Singh and Baldev Singh son of Bhajan Singh, both residents of Gagrewal village, have been killed in an armed encounter with the police, which occurred at village Desal under Kapurthala Sadar police station. The bodies were not returned to their families.
Dara Singh, who could not do anything, accepted the custodial murder of his second son and his nephew Baldev also as God's Will!
Meanwhile, Amarjit had been living in Biharipur, earning his livelihood as a laborer.
In the third week of December 1993, SHO Kashmir Singh and ASI Baldev Singh of Khadoor Sahib police station raided Amarjit's house in Gagrewal village and took his mother Piar Kaur, and his two sisters Aman Kaur and Dalbir Kaur into custody. SHO Kashmir Singh instructed his team of constables to confiscate all valuable objects in the house. All household things including utensils, clothes and some silver ornaments were taken away.
Piar Kaur and her two daughters were detained at Khadoor Sahib police station for eight days in the course of which they were physically and sexually tortured. Piar Kaur was compelled to accompany a team of officials led by SHO Kashmir Singh to raid the Amarjit's house in Biharipur. Once again, all the money in the house, some gold ornaments and all other objects of value were confiscated. Amarjit was arrested in front of all his relatives, including his in-laws.
His wife Balwinder Kaur, father-in-law Madha Singh, mother-in-law Gurdeep Kaur were also taken into custody and brought to Khadoor Sahib police station where Amarjit was brutally tortured. Meanwhile, the police also detained two sisters-in-law of Amarjit, his wife's sisters, from village Vei Pui. They were also brutally tortured so much so that they lost consciousness several times in the span of a few days. Amarjit had himself been so badly beaten that he was no longer in a position to move and was segregated from the rest of the family who were all detained there, including his mother Piar, for one month.
Thereafter, Piar Kaur, Madha Singh, Gurdeep Singh, his wife Balwinder Kaur and her sister Babbu were taken to Verowal police station, where they remained for the next six days. They were again brought back to Khadoor Sahib police station where Madha Singh, Gurdeep Singh, Balwinder Kaur and Babbu were released.
A week later, Piar Kaur was also released at the intervention of a local politician Lakha Singh.
There was no trace of Amarjit.
Over the next month, Dara Singh metSHO Kashmir Singh of Khadoor Sahib police station several times to find out about Amarjit. Everytime, SHO Kashmir Singh and ASI Baldev Singh to "go away and save his own life."
Dara Singh could not do anything. He and his wife have since become completely lifeless, and spend their time crying for his disappeared and dead sons. Amarjit's wife Balwinder has gone away, leaving their daughter Harpreet Kaur behind with her in-laws.

Case No. 5: Twenty-two years old Harjit Singh, resident of Sultanwind under Dobourji police station in Amritsar, was a mechanic who repaired tube wells and other heavy electric engines. He earned about Rs. 3000 a month. He was married to Sawinder Kaur, but did not have children. The couple lived along with Harjit Singh's fifty-seven years old father Balbir Singh, mother Harjinder Kaur and his eighteen years old sister Bibi Bao.
A police party from Doburji led by SHO Narinder Singh Malhi, raided the house on 26 November 1992 afternoon around 3 p.m. Both Harjit and his father Balbir were taken to the the Police Station Doubrji.
SHO Narinder Singh also confiscated all valuables in the household: television, furniture, beds and mattresses, even utensils. The value of all these items, which belonged to father Balbir and were never returned to him, is estimated to be more than fifty thousand rupees.
The same evening, a delegation of village elders called on SHO Malhi at the police station to request him to either release the two or to produce them before a magistrate. The SHO told them not to worry and that he needed them only for questioning. Late that night, Balbir Singh was allowed to return home, but Harjit was not released.
On 20 December 1992, Balbir sent a written representation to the DGP, Punjab, giving all the details of the abduction and illegal detention of his son. But no action followed.
On 4 February 1993, SHO Malhi took Balbir Singh into illegal custody again. Harjit was still in the police lock-up and his condition was critical due to severe physical torture. Harjit told him that he had been continuously tortured to reveal the whereabouts of some supposed terrorists he knew nothing about. Balbir was also manhandled and questioned that night, but was allowed to go back home the next day. SHO Malhi told him that Harjit would be released when his condition became better.
Balbir went to the police station again on 11 February 93 to find out about his son. SHO Malhi told him that he could not meet his son and became evasive when asked about his whereabouts. Balbir was not convinced when he said that Harjit had been sent somewhere else for further questioning. For some weeks, Balbir held hope that his son would eventually come back. When he could not even ascertain his whereabouts for many weeks, Balbir Singh sent further representations to the DGP Punjab and the Chief Minister. But nothing happened.
The obtaining situation of police terror allowed him no scope to take any action until March 1997 when, following a change in the government, Balbir Singh again wrote to the new Akali Chief Minister. The letter was not even acknowledged.
Balbir Singh engaged a lawyer at Chandigarh to file a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, or for an independent inquiry, before the High Court of Punajb and Haryana. The writ petition - Cr. W. P. No. 533/97 filed on 11 November 1997 - is still pending before the court.
Balbir Singh hopes that his son Harjit Singh might yet be alive since there has neither been an official corroboration of his death nor have newspapers reported his death in any form.
Balbir Singh also says that all the relatives, particularly Harjit Singh's sister, have since been under great mental agony. His grand mother Harbans Kaur is stated to have expired under the shock of his disappearance.

Case No. 6: Sixty-five years old Ajit Singh, resident of Kairon village in Patti subdivision of Amritsar district, was a farmer with no political associations. He was married to Darshan Kaur and had two grown up sons.
Early in the morning of 12 March 1992, SI Walia from the CIA staff of Tarn Taran led a large police force to Ajit Singh's residence and abducted him in front of several members of the family. During the raid, the police confiscated Rs. 90,000 that was found in the house.
Over the next days, the police also forcibly harvested the standing crops of wheat from Ajit Singh's fields and took the produce away. The loss of the produce is valued at Rs. 125,000.
No one ever saw or heard of Ajit Singh again.

Case No. 7: Twenty-five years old Baljeet Singh was a farmer from village Lehra Bega under Nathana police station in Bhatinda district. He was married to Jasmel Kaur and had three children: two thirteen and eleven years old boys and one nine years old daughter. His sixty-five years old father Gurcharan Singh and mother Harbans Kaur also lived with them. Baljeet neither had any political association, nor had he been arrested before.
On 2 November 1992, ASI Balbir Singh Grewal from Nathana police station led a police force to take Baljeet Singh into custody from his house, ostensibly to interrogate him on militant activities in his area. All the family members witnessed the abduction. Baljeet Singh disappeared never to be seen again. Although there has been no official confirmation of his fate, the family believes that Baljeet was eliminated in custody and his body disposed of in some clandestine manner.
During the raid, the police also demolished the house, and took away all valuable things. The total loss is estimated to be around Rs. 900,000/-. The property destroyed by the police belonged to Baljeet's father Gurcharan Singh.
Baljeet's mother Harbans Kaur, who has sent this complaint, holds then SSP A. K. Sharma of Bhatinda responsible for the destruction and theft of property.

Case No. 8: Twenty-five years old Bhola Singh was a young Sikh farmer who lived at Tiona under Sadar police station in Bhatinda along with his father Mithu Singh, mother Surjit Kaur and brother Hakam Singh. Bhola Singh was a baptized Sikh. For this reason, the local police kept him under surveillance and picked him up for interrogation on suspected militant connections. In May 92, he was arrested under sections 25/54/59 of the Arms Act and sent to jail. Later he was released on bail.
In the night of 25 October 1992, a group of police officers from the Bhatinda Sadar Station and the CIA staff raided the house of Bhola Singh. The force was led by DSP Balvir Singh Khehra, SHO Hardeep Singh, ASI Sukhdev Singh and Baljinder Kumar. All of them wore plain clothes, and tied long towels on their heads as loose turbans. Clearly, they were attempting to disguise themselves as Sikh militants.
These officers ordered the destruction of the cotton crop that was standing in eight acres of the family agricultural land. To carry out the order, the policemen took a tractor and ploughed up the field.
After supervising destruction of the crop, the police force picked up both Bhola Singh and Hakam Singh and took them to Sadar Police station where both of them were severely thrashed and asked to speak out on their militant connections. After some time the two brothers got segregated and interrogated separately. Hakam was held at Sadar police station. Bhola was removed to some other place.
The next day, the village elders went to the Sadar police station to request the officers to either release illegally detained brothers or to produce them before a magistrate as required under the law. Village elders went to the police station a number of times over the next days. The police officials promised to let them go after interrogation.
On 31 October 92, Punjabi newspaper Ajit carried a report which said that Bhola Singh has been killed in an armed encounter with the police. The dead body was not returned to the family. Hakam Singh, who has sent this complaint, was eventually released.

Case No. 9: Twenty-six years old Major Singh, son of Dasaundha Singh, lived at House No. 2559, Mehna Mohalla of Bathinda, along with his parents, his wife Gurbinder Kaur and eight years old son Channanprit Singh. A farmer by profession, Major Singh was by no means a very orthodox Sikh, even cutting his hair, although his elder brother Harpal Singh Zaildar was active in the Akali politics and had been arrested a number of times for his association with political agitations. Major Singh had also been detained on few occasions, as a hostage, when the latter managed to dodge arrest.
On 28 April 1991, Major Singh went on a bus to meet his friend Hardev Singh at village Chathe Wala. After talking to Hardev, Major Singh borrowed his scooter No. PJB-4933 and went to the house of another friend Paramjit Singh at village Mahi Nangal in Talwandi Sabo subdivision of Bhatinda district. Paramjit was also a farmer. Married to Angrej Kaur, Paramjit was the father of three young children. Paramjit also trimmed his hair and beard regularly, and was by no means a regular orthodox Sikh. He also had no connection with any political organizaion.
When Major Singh arrived, Paramjit was about to leave his house with the intention to visit his sister Moorti who lived in village Tarkhan Wala. Major Singh offered to drive him there on his scooter. Just outside the village of Tarkhan Wala on the Sukhladhi road Rama Mandi police station had set up a check post under the supervision of SHO Manohar Lal.
Major Singh and Paramjit were stopped at the police post, and taken into custody. They were forced into a jeep and one constable drove their scooter to the police station Rama Mandi. On the way, the police stopped at the house of one Jaswant Singh, alias Leelu, who was not home. The police men asked for drinking water, which Jaswant's son Gurdeep gave. Major Singh and Paramjit also drank water. Meanwhile, Jaswant's brother Gurtej, who was acquainted with Major Singh and Paramjit, arrived. Paramjit took out Rs. 475/- from his pocket and requested Gurtej Singh to give the money to his sister Moorti or to her husband Gamdur Singh at Tarkhan Wala, and also to inform them about the arrests. After this transaction, the police took them to Rama Mandi police station.
Later that evening, Gamdur Singh and his father Gurdev Singh went to the police station and requested SHO Manohar Lal to release the two. The SHO said that they would be released the next day after questioning. The SHO allowed Gamdur Singh and Gurdev Singh to talk to Major Singh and Paramjit Singh in the police lock-up. Gamdur Singh and Gurdev Singh went to the police station again the next day when the SHO said that he had never arrested Major Singh and Paramjit, although their scooter was still in the compound of the police station.
Gamdur Singh then went to Paramjit's house and informed his family about the development. Major Singh's family learnt about the situation from Paramjit's relatives. Major Singh's elder brother Harpal Singh collected few personal friends and sympathizers, including Pirthi Singh and Manjit Singh, and went to the police station where the officials denied having taken Major Singh and Paramjit into custody.
Later it became known that the police had already killed them in a supposed armed encounter, claiming that two unidentified terrorists opened fire when stopped at the police post for a routine check. Becoming suspicious, their relatives asked the police to show the clothes which the supposed unidentified terrorists had been wearing. SHO refused. He also challenged them to do whatever they wanted if they thought he had killed Major Singh and Paramjit Singh after taking them in custody. The bodies of the unidentified terrorists had already been cremated by the police at Bhatinda crematoria, he said.
The relatives and the friends of Major Singh and Paramjit Singh went on to hold a sit-in in front of the Deputy Commissioner's office who eventually relented to hold an inquiry into the episode by the Sub-divisional Magistrate of Talwandi Sabo. The police officials resented this and threatened all the witnesses of fatal consequences if they deposed against them before the Inquiry Officer. To scare the relatives off, SHO Manoharlal carried out further raids of Major Singh and Paramjit's houses, confiscating all valuable goods including clothes, shoes, ornaments, all electronic items and cash. The police also damaged the house, breaking down all doors and windows and also destroyed the standing cotton crop on twenty acres of land that was ready for harvest.
The total loss from these destructive operations is valued at more than Rs. 200,000. The police also took Major Singh's brothers Jaspal and Harpal into illegal custody and brutally tortured them. From the torture, Jaspal has become almost a cripple and Harpal also suffered damage of his legs. Eventually, they were released but not before they promised to forget Major Singh's murder.

Case No. 10: Kuldip Singh, alias Keepa, was a twenty-four years old Jat Sikh mechanic from Fatehgarh Sahib who earned his livelihood by working in a tractor repair shop at Khamano. His fifty years old father Sucha Singh was a small farmer who rented some acres of land for cultivation. Kuldip Singh was married to Sukhwinder Kaur, but did not have any children. Apart from the couple, the joint family comprised Kuldip Singh's parents, Sucha Singh and Mahinder Kaur, two younger sisters - then thirteen years old Amandeep Kaur and nine years old Kulwinder Kaur - and eleven years old younger brother Rajdeep Singh.
As the eldest son in the family, Kuldip had the responsibility not only to educate his yonger brother but also to marry his sisters, which required a lot of money. Kuldip worked hard. He had no political affiliation and had never been arrested before. The family lived in Thikriwal village under Khamano police station in district Fatehgarh Sahib.
Early in the morning of 24 February 1994, a group of police officials raided Kuldip's house. All the members of the family were sleeping. The police woke up Kuldip and asked him to come along with them to the police station. They did not disclose the name of the police station where they would be taking him.
After the sunrise, around 8 a.m., Kuldip's mother Mahinder Kaur went with a neighbor Mewa Singh to find help for her son's release. For mobility, Mewa Singh had taken Kuldip's scooter. The owner of a grocery shop in Khamano town, whose name was also Kuldip Singh, agreed to visit the Khamano police station to find out. He went there on the scooter of Mahinder Kaur's abducted son. After some time, he came back without the scooter to report that the SHO of the police station had confiscated it. The SHO, however, denied holding Kuldip Singh, whose scooter with its numberplate - PBR-5508 - he had confiscated.
Mahinder Kaur returned home to discover that during her absence from the house, the SHO of Khamano had conducted a raid and had searched the house thoroughly in the presence of some neighbours including Jodha Singh and Amrik Singh, then head of the village council. But nothing incriminating had been discovered.
The next day, Kuldip's father Sucha Singh and his grand-father Kuldip Singh went along with a group of village elders to meet the SHOs of Khamano and Bassi Pathana police stations. They also met the SSP of the police district of Khanna. All the officers denied having Kuldip Singh in their custody.
In spite of these denials, groups of police officials, including the CIA staff from Khanna, continued to raid the house to carry out more searches over the next week. The CIA staff of Khanna conducted another search of the house in April 1994. At that time Sucha Singh was not home. The raiding officials went away with his son-in-law Balbir Singh, husband of his eldest daughter Karamjit Kaur, who was visiting them to help out with the harvesting in the absence of his son. While taking Balbir Singh away, the officials declared that he would be released when Sucha Singh produced himself for interrogation before the CIA staff Khanna.
Two days later, Sucha Singh appeared before the CIA staff at Khanna and was held there illegally for interrogation under severe torture for the next five days. The torture must have been so severe that he became completely silent after his release.
Another mysterious incident, which happened six months later, destroyed his mental balance completely. On 12 October 1994, Sucha Singh was sleeping in the verandah of the house while other members of the family slept inside. Early next morning, his wife Amarjit Kaur found him lying there in an unconscious state with his head profusely bleeding. Someone had hit his head with a heavy object in the night. The family suspects the police involvement. Sucha Singh was admitted in a Ludhiana hospital for a week. But he lost his memory completely, becoming an absolute mental wreck.
Kuldip remains untraced. His younger brother Rajdip has given up school to work as a casual labourer. But his income is not sufficient to maintain the family. Amandeep Kaur and Kulwinder Kaur remain unmarried. Mother Mahinder Kaur has not only to cope with the grief of her son's disappearance and the condition of her husband, but also shoulder the responsibility of bringing up the children. She has not been able to take any legal action because of the serious financial hardship. Also, the Khamano police threatened to eliminate her younger sons if she took the matter Kuldip Singh's abduction to the court. The Bajaj Chetak scooter, registration number PBR 5508, 1986 model, which the Khamano police confiscated on 25 February 94, has not been returned. The scooter is valued at Rs. 12,000.

FURTHER DISCLOSURES:
Case No. 1: Kashmir Singh was a Special Police Officer from Jhander village under Majitha police station of Ajnala subdivision in Amritsar district.
On 2 January 91, Kashmir Singh was abducted from his uncle's house in village Arrana, in Assandh subdivision of Panipat district following a police raid that was led by DSP Kirpal Singh of Majitha. Interrogated under torture at Mal Mandi Interrogation Center in Amritsar, Kashmir Singh was killed in a supposed armed encounter that was staged on 5 January 1991. Although the body was not returned to the family, it was able to collect the ashes from Sheetla Mandir Cremation ground in Amritsar where his cremation carried out by the police was recorded.
Kashmir Singh's mother Mahinder Kaur complains that his brother-in-law Kulwant Singh was also later killed by police agents. She also mentions the illegal abduction of one Tasbir Singh from Jhander village who was apparently declared killed in an armed encounter that supposed took place on 9 September 1992.

Case No. 2: Twenty years old Harpinder Singh was a student of Malwa College at Phool. His father Jawant Singh, a retired army officer, was the resident of Hargobindpura, near Gurusar Maharaj, under Police Station and subdivision Phool in Bhatinda district.
The police used to harass Harpinder Singh and his family for the reason of his association with All India Sikh Students Federation. Once in August 1991, the SHO Baljinder Singh of Phool police station picked up his father, mother and his elder sister Amandeep Kaur, held them at various police stations and tortured them brutally. Senior police officers including SSP Anil Kumar Sharma took part in their torture. The police also confiscated and destroyed the family property.
Harpinder Kaur was unable to bear the insult offered to his elder sister. After this incident, he left his home and became a fugitive in September 1991. On 21 January 1992, Amandeep Kaur was shot dead outside the house by two unidentified gunmen who the family believes to be the agents of SSP Bhatinda. It is said that the motive was to silence her from speaking about her custodial experiences.
Harpinder himself was killed in a supposed armed encounter, as reported in the Punjabi Tribune and Ajit newspapers dated 26 and 27 June 92. Father Jaswant Singh claims that the so called encounter was faked.
Harpinder was shown killed along with Darshan Singh Kotli and Jasbir Singh Latala. All were cremated by the police at Bhatinda cremation ground as unclaimed and unidentified dead bodies.
According to father Jaswant Singh, the police had also picked up Gurjant Singh Joga from Gurudwara Gurusar on 15 September 1991 and killed him in an so called encounter faked the next day.
According to him, Surinder Pal Singh of Sarhali police station abducted Baba Hardayal Singh and his daughter Baljit Kaur and later killed them.

Case No. 3: Nineteen years old Gurdeep Singh, a resident of House No. 268, Ward No. 11, Singhpura road in Kurali under Kharar subdivision of Ropar district, was studying for an engineering diploma at the local ITI.
On 5 February 1993, Gurdeep's mother Manjit Kaur was taken into illegal custody by Ropar CIA and interrogated there under torture about the family's militant connections. SHO Avtar Singh of Kharar police station personally tortured her for information on Jagtar Singh Panjaula, supposedly a member of the Babbar Khalsa, and the son of her husband's sister. Manjit Kaur did not know his whereabouts and could not offer any information. She was released after one week following pressure from the residents of the locality.
On 6 March 1993 morning, SHO Avtar Singh led a raid on the house of Manjit Kaur's parents in Kubaheri village in Ropar district, where her son Gurdeep was staying at that time. SHO Avtar Singh took Gurdeep into custody.
When village elders of Kubaheri, along with Manjit Kaur, went to the Kharar police station later that day, they found Gurdeep in the police lock up. He had already been tortured very badly and was bleeding. SHO Avtar Singh told them that Gurdeep Singh would be released after his interrogation in some days.
On 11 March 93, Manjit Kaur along with members of village council of Kubaheri met DSP H. P. Singh of Kharar and gave him a written petition on the illegal detention of her son. DSP H. P. Singh said that her son would be released after the investigations.
In the next days, Manjit Kaur sent written petitions to the Chief Minister of Punjab, the DGP and several other senior officials. She went on to meet DIG Chander Shekhar of Ludhiana range on 27 March, and also gave him a written representation. He promised to take action and asked her to meet SSP Sanjeev Gupta.
When Manjit Kaur went to meet him, SSP Gupta ordered his subordinates to take her into custody. At his command, Manjit Kaur was detained again for fifteen days at CIA staff interrogation center in Ropar and later Kharar police station and again tortured under interrogation. Her father Dharam Singh and mother Gurdial Kaur were also arrested and held in Kharar police station with the view to terrorize them into silence.
While Manjit Kaur was being illegally detained at CIA Satff office in Ropar, she claims to have seen the police administer cyanide to two separate groups of six young Sikhs, after brutally torturing them.
Manjit Kaur's brother Bant Singh Aujla was also arrested and interrogated at Chamkaur Sahib police station where he saw Gurdeep Singh on 7 April 1993.
SHO Avtar Singh released Manjit Kaur and her parents fifteen days later after receiving a bribe from her family. The tale of her woes was published in the English Tribune dated 27-9-1995 and in the Punjabi Ajit on 17-12-1995.
Gurdeep Singh was not released from the custody. Nor was he seen or heard of after Manjit Kaur's brother met him in Chamkaur Sahib police station on 7 April 93. There was also no report on his death in an armed encounter or on his escape from the custody.
The higher officials Manjit Kaur had approached with written petitions did not respond.
On 18 August 97, Manjit Kaur filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus before the Punjab and Haryana High Court through advocate Ranjan Lakhanpal. On 20 April 98, the petition - Cr. W. P. No. 978/97 - was disposed of by Judge R. L. Anand with the observation that the petitioner was free to file a criminal complaint in the local court of competent jurisdiction.

Case 4: Twenty-two years old Balwinder Singh was a truck driver from Jalalabad village under Verowal police station in Khadur Sahib subdivision of Amritsar district. He was married to Baljit Kaur but had no children. His father Charan Singh and mother Swaran Kaur lived in the same house. Balwinder, a mazhabi Sikh, had no political association and had never been arrested before.
On 14 March 1992 forenoon, Balwinder came to the house after parking the truck at its owner's place in the city. He took a bath and was relaxing when some police officials in uniform along with four soldiers from the 4 Sikh Light Infantry raided the house and took Balwinder into custody. The police officials refused to identify themselves and said that they wanted Balwinder Singh for questioning.
On 16 March evening, the same police officials took Balwinder and another boy Gurbachan Singh to Mand area for some search operations. The same evening, Balwinder's father Charan Singh was also taken into custody when he was returning home after grazing his cattle. All the family members witnessed the arrest and also saw Balwinder who had apparently been tortured.
Charan Singh was taken to Fatudhinga police station and held there for a night. Balwinder was taken away to some unknown place. In the police lock-up, Charan Singh found out from a constable that Balwinder was being taken to Sultanpur in Kapurthala district and that the officer responsible for his arrest and interrogation was one DSP Chahal. That was the last time Balwinder was seen alive.
Charan Singh was let off the next day when he went to Sultanpur and Kapurthala to trace his son. But the officials there denied Balwinder's custody.
On 17 March 1992, Punjabi newspapers reported that one Balwinder Singh has been killed in an armed encounter with the police. Punjabi Ajit carried the same report on 18 March. The body was not returned to the family.
Father Charan Singh reports that after this incident the police abducted and killed at least five other persons from his village. He mentions the names of Swaran Singh, Sodhi Lakha Singh, Sakattar Singh, Gurmeet Singh and Dalbir Singh Maddu, all from his village.

Case No. 5: Nineteen years old Harjit Singh, a first year student at the university of Patiala, used to live with his parents Jarnail Singh and Raj Kaur at Janherian, under Sadar police station of Patiala. He was unmarried. A baptized Sikh, Harjit Singh was also a keen sportsman and never had any trouble with the police before.
On 7 April 1991 morning, he went to the university to take private tuition from a professor, but did not come back home. Around 10.30 that evening, SHO Harbhajan Singh from Sadar police station came to the house with other policemen to ask about Harjit. His father Jarnail Singh told him that he had gone to the university in the morning, but had not come back home, that the family was worried because of that.
On hearing this, SHO Harbhajan Singh asked him to come along to the Sadar police station. The next day, several members of the village council led by its elected head Pooran Singh Boharpur and retired Captain Surat Singh and others, went to the police station and persuaded the SHO to release Jarnail Singh with the promise that they would look for Harjit Singh and produce him at the police station.
SHO Harbhajan Singh allowed Jarnail Singh return home. He also told the village delegation that they were free to look Harjit, but they would not find him anywhere. The delegation was intrigued and worried about the implication of the statement, but left the police station along with Jarnail Singh. Harjit Singh did not come back home. The family searched for him at all relatives' places, but no one had seen him.
Nineteen days after Harjit disappeared, SHO Harbhajan Singh again took Jarnail Singh into custody on 26 April, holding him at Sadar police station for three days. He was not interrogated in this period and was released on 29th after the village delegation met SSP Satish Sharma of Patiala.
The SHO Harbhajan Singh sent a head constable along with him ostensibly to look for Harjit in the houses of all his close relatives. It was only a ploy, as it later turned out, to identify their locations.
On 2 May, Jarnail Singh along with the village elders met SSP Satish Sharma again, and told him about his harassment and that he suspected the police of having already kidnapped his son. Satish Sharma told him that no one will harass him in the future, if he did not create any trouble.
On 3 May morning, Jarnail Singh read a statement issued by SSP Muhammad Mustafa Ropar, which said that two terrorists, Nishan Singh Saifdipur and Harjit Singh Janherian, were killed in an encounter with the police near village Manakpur Kaler under police station Sohana.
After reading the newspaper report, Jarnail Singh met the SSP of Ropar in his office who told them that Harjit Singh had been killed in an encounter, and that he should meet DSP Jagdish Chand at Mohali police station to collect his ashes.
The delegation then went to Mohali police station but could not meet the DSP. SHO Didar Singh told them that as the encounter had taken place under Sohana police station, he would ask the concerned officers to hand over the ashes to him. Jarnail Singh and the delegation with him to the Sohana police station whose SHO took them to the Cremation Ground in Mohali. There, two pyres were still smouldering. Not knowing the pyre in which Harjit Singh had been cremated, Jarnail Singh collected the ashes from both. He was also asked to sign a written statement without reading it.
SHO Sohana, who was seen weeping by the side of the pyres, also asked him to sign several sheets of blank paper. The SHO's driver took Jarnail aside and told him that the boys had been in the police custody for some time, that they were killed and that the story of the encounter was concocted. He requested Jarnail Singh not to divulge their conversation to anyone.
Concrete evidence of Harjit Singh having been killed in custody emerged only one year later, when the family organized a religious ceremony to mark the first anniversary of Harjit's death. One Baldev Singh from village Baran in Patiala also came to attend the ceremony. He told Jarnail Singh that Sub-Inspector Balwant Singh Kauharia of Ropar CIA had raided his house on 1 May 91. During the raid, both Harjit Singh and Nishan Singh Saifdipur were also in the police custody. Balwant Singh's mother, who was present in the house during the raid, also saw Harjit Singh and Nishan Singh. Balwant Singh was arrested and taken to the CIA Interrogation Center in Ropar along with Harjit and Nishan. Later that night, the three of them were segregated. Balwant Singh, who had now come out on bail, was sent to prison after ten days of illegal custody.
Later on, Deputy Commissioner of Ropar ordered an enquiry into the incident, entrusting the investigation to one officer Dalip Singh of Ropar. When Jarnail Singh met him to pursue the inquiry, this officer told him that he was under the police pressure and, for that reason, was opting out of the inquiry. Dalip Singh asked him to pursue the matter with the Deputy Commissioner of Ropar. Finding out few days later that the inquiry had been transferred to the Sub-Divisional Magistrate of Kharar, Jarnail went the SDM's office to find out. There a lady clerk showed him the file and told him that the SDM would not be able to complete the inquiry because of the police pressure that was coming from very high levels. Jarnail Singh affirms that Nishan Singh Saifdipur was also abducted and killed in the custody of Ropar police. The files on these incomplete inquiries should be able to shed more light on what really happened.

Case No. 6: Forty-eight years old Sewa Singh was a long standing member of the Akali Dal from village Gharuan Uchand under Kharar subdivision in Ropar district. Sewa Singh was married to Ajaib Kaur with two daughters, eighteen and eleven, and one son who is now fourteen.
Sewa Singh was a baptized Sikh and a member of the Akal Dal. He had been arrested for protesting against the Emergency regime of Indira Gandhi between June 1975 and March 1977, and had also been to jail many more times in the course of the Akali agitation for the implementation of Anandpur Sahib resolution between 1982 ane 1983.
After the Operation Blue Star, the police began to harass him and his family, picking them up arbitrarily, holding them in illegal detention for long periods and torturing them during interrogation. The police also used to regularly abduct Sewa Singh's twenty-two years old nephew Jagjit Singh, son of Hardial Singh, and torture him during interrogation.
On 6 May 1987, Jagjit was arrested formally under TADA and sent to jail where he remained for ten months, securing release on bail thereafter. But the police continue to illegally detain and torture him. Fed up by the harassment, Jagjit left his house and joined the ranks of militants.
The police began to harass the family much more after Jagjit became a fugitive. In 1989, Sewa Singh was implicated in a case under the Arms Act and sent to Patiala jail. He secured release on bail after three months.
Meanwhile, Jagjit had been killed in an armed encounter, along with four others, that had supposedly taken place on 28 Octgober 1990 between a group of militants and the Ludhiana police near village Ucha Pind. Even after his death, the police continued to harass the family, regularly detained Sewa Singh illegally, and questioning him under torture about his militant connections.
In June 1991, Sewa Singh contested the aborted election to the Punjab Assembly from the Kharar constituency as a condidate of the Sikh Students Federation affiliated to Manjit Singh. The local Congress leader Harnek Singh Gharuan felt threatened by Sewa Singh's popularity in the area, and began to instigate the police to harass him. The elections were eventually cancelled by the Congress Party that was able to form a government at the Center following Rajiv Gandhi's assassination.
In 1992, Harnek Singh was a candidate to the Punjab Assembly from Kharar constituency when all the major Akali groups and also all the factions of the Sikh Students Federation decided to boycott the elections. Harnek Singh did not like the call to boycott, and fearing violence, instigated the police to control Sewa Singh's family. Sewa Singh complained in a petition addressed to the higher authorities, including the Prime Minister of India, the Governor and the DGP of Punjab that he had received death threats from Harnek Singh. The petition was ignored. Harnek Singh became a Minister in the government formed by the Congress Party under Beant Singh.
On 16 August 1992, few months after Beant Singh had become the Chief Minister of Punjab, Sewa Singh was against picked up by DSP H. P. Singh Kalewal of Kharar and tortured severely at CIA staff office in Ropar for a month. When on 17 September 92, Sewa Singh was brought back home by his brothers, Nasib Singh and Hardial Singh, his physical condition from custodial torture was very critical. He was not even able to walk.
Exactly two days later, early in the morning of 18 September 92, a strong police force led by DSP Gurcharan Singh of Mohali again raided Sewa Singh's house. Sub-Inspector Bhavkhandan Singh, a relative and security guard of Harnek Singh Gharuan was also in the police party. Sewa Singh was physically lifted and thrown into a waiting vehicle and driven away. The entire neighborhood and the family members, including Hardial Singh, his wife Charan Kaur and Sewa Singh's wife Ajaib Kaur witnessed the abduction.
Sewa Singh's brothers went on to meet several senior police officials, including DIG of Ludhiana Range Chandershekhar to plead for their intervention to save Sewa Singh from torturers and murderers. All of them ignored their plea with routine statements that the matter would be looked into. Also, their efforts to secure Sewa Singh's release with the intervention of Bhai Manjit Singh and Professor Sarup Singh, a friend of DGP Gill, yielded no results.
Failing in all other ways, brother of Sewa Singh Nasib Singh and his wife Charan Kaur went to the Congress leader and now a Minister Harnek Singh Gharuan to plead for his mercy. But Harnek Singh abused them in a foul language and told them that they were reaping the wages of their sins. He refused to help and asked them to leave the house.
Sewa Singh's whereabouts remain unknown.
Nasib Singh who has sent this complaint also affirms that following Sewa Singh's abduction, the police also picked up Ranjit Kaur, wife of Amar Singh, who also disappeared. She has neither returned nor has there been any news of her fate. Nasib Singh also affirms that police from Bassi Pathana killed Narinder Singh Kuka, son of Gurcharan Singh, in a faked encounter after abducting him. Earlier, the police had killed Sewa Singh's nephew Jagjit Singh in an encounter at Ucha Pind Sanghol, along with four others, on 28 October 1990.

Case No. 7: Fifty-five years old Arur Singh from Manochahal Kalan village under Jhabal police station in Tarn Taran subdivision of Amritsar district was an employee of the SGPC and was also related to the militant leader Gurbachan Singh Manochahal. Married to Jasbir Kaur, Arur Singh was the father of six children, four daughters and two sons. The eldest son Harwinder Singh is now twenty-four years old. The youngest daughter Rajkulwinder Kaur is now eleven years.
In the first week of December 1992, SHO Suba Singh of Khalra police station had arrested him but let him go after taking a bribe of Rs. 30,000.
Again on 12 December 92, Sub-Inspector Raj Kumar and Assistant-Sub-Inspector Nachhatterpal from Manochahal Kalan police post raided his house when Arur had gone to Tarn Taran on some work for the SGPC. The two officers said that Arur Singh should present himself at the police post as they had to ask him some questions regarding his tractor which some unidentified persons had taken away on 31 June 1992. This was an old incident, and the police had already questioned him in that connection.
Arur Singh returned home on 15 December and immediately went to the Manochahal police post along with Balwinder Singh, son of Darshan Singh, Harpal Singh, son of Ajit Singh and some others from the village. At the police post, Sub Inspector Raj Kumar asked his companions to go away since he wanted Arur Singh to identiy the tractor that had been reported stolen. He asked them to come back in the evening to take Arur Singh.
When they came back in the evening, along with Arur Singh's wife Jasbir Kaur, he told them that he would not be released as yet. Inspector Raj Kumar asked Jasbir Kaur to bring a quilt for her husband's use at the police station, which she did.
The next morning, Jasbir Kaur went back to the police post and requested for permission to see her husband. ASI Nachhatterpal asked her to first fetch some food for her husband. Jasbir Kaur came back with some food and was allowed to meet him. He had visibly been tortured very badly. He was not even able to eat.
Early in the morning of 17 December, Jasbir Kaur went to the police post again. Arur Singh had been taken out of the lock to go to toilet. Jasbir Kaur saw him as he was being walked back from the toilet to the lock-up. Both his hands were hanging limp. They had been fractured. Arur Singh told her to pursue his case vigorougly. "Otherwise, I would be killed," he told her.
When Jasbir Kaur went to the police post again on 18 December, he could not meet her husband. Inspector Raj Kumar told her that he has been sent to some other place for further interrogation. Unofficially, she came to know that he had been taken to CIA staff interrogation center in Tarn Taran. She went immediately to the CIA staff interrogation center at Tarn Taran, but was not allowed to go inside, nor was she given any information on her husband's whereabouts.
On 28 December evening, Jasbir Kaur met SSP Ajit Singh Sandhu at his office through someone who was close to him and paid Rs. 150,000, which he had demanded for Arur Singh's release. SSP Sandhu told her to collect Arur Singh from Jhabal police station the next day morning. When Jasbir Kaur, accompanied by several relatives, went to Jhabal police station on 29th morning, the SHO there told them that there was no one with that name in their lock-up. He also told them that as an armed encounter had taken place on the Canal road near village Dode, they should go to the Civil Hospital in Tarn Tarn to find out if Arur Singh is among the killed.
By now someone had seen the newspapers that reported an armed encounter in which three identified and one unidentified militants had been killed near Dode. Arur Singh's name was in the list of the identified terrorists. Immediately, Jasbir Kaur and other relatives went to the Civil Hospital in Tarn Taran where the Jhabal police brought four dead bodies for post-mortem. Jasbir Kaur was not allowed to go near them, but she was able to identify Arur Singh's body from a distance. The family members did not dare to demand the body for cremation. They were afraid.
Jasbir Kaur went back to the village to persuade the village elders to accompany her to claim the dead body for the cremation. But they also refused from fear. The police carried out the cremations at Tarn Taran Cremation grounds. The other two, who had been identified, were Ram Singh from village Sur Singh and Resham Singh from village Kuharka. Jasbir Kaur, who has sent this complaint, also claims that the police had itself stolen Arur Singh's tractor, costing Rs. 300,000, which he had purchased on a bank loan. The loan remains to be paid back.

Case No. 8: Sixty-four years old Gurmej Kaur was the mother of Gurbachan Singh Manochahal, a member of the Panthik Committee and the head of the Bhindranwale Tiger Force. She lived at the family village house at Manochahal Kalan, Patti Mehmu Ki, under Sarhali Kalan police station in Tarn Taran subdivision of Amritsar district.
Her husband Atma Singh was a farmer. They had four sons: Gurbachan Singh, Nirvail Singh, Tarlochan Singh and Narinder Singh. The first two have been killed by the police.
Like other members of the family, Gurmej Kaur was being constantly harassed for the reason that she was Gurbachan's mother. She had already been detained and tortured a number of times. To avoid further torture, she had been shifting her residence and, at the time of her abduction, was living at the house of Surjit Singh at Katra Sher Singh in Amritsar.
On 15 September 1992, DSP Gurmeet Singh Randhawa from the Tarn Taran CIA staff raided the house of Surjit Singh in Amritsar and took her to the CIA staff office in Tarn Taran. Apparently, she was detained and tortured there, and later on shifted to other police stations. Gurmej Kaur was seen alive for the last time on 16 March 1993, at Verowal police post, by Charan Kaur and Swaran Kaur, her sisters, also in the illegal custody, who were later released.
Tarlochan Singh, the sender of this complaint, was also tortured and interrogated their during his illegal custody that lasted six months. There he found out from SHO Tarlochan Singh Walia that his mother Gurmej Kaur had been killed after the capture of Gurbachan Singh. Her dead body was thrown into the river near Harike Pattan. After his release from the illegal custody, Tarlochan Singh Manochahal met the SSP Ajit Singh Sandhu to find out what happened to his mother. He said: "We intended to liquidate the Manochahal family completely. I do not know how you managed to escape! Anyhow, now you should forget the past, and concentrate on the future." Tarlochan Singh, in his Incident-Report, gives the following list of people belonging to the family and other associates, who got abducted and killed in illegal police custody:
1. Father Atma Singh
2. Brother Nirvail Singh Manochahal
3. Cousin Balwinder Singh Manochahal
4. Cousin Mahinder Singh Manochahal
5. Cousin Harjinder Singh Manochahal
6. Arur Singh Manochahal
7. Balwinder Singh from village Pandori Golan
8. Dial Singh from Chohla Sahib
9. Nirmal Singh, alias Nimma, from Pandori Golan
10. Tarlok Singh Bhullar from Karam Singh Wala
Sender of this complaint Tarlochan Singh Manochahal also reports that while the entire family was either in illegal police custody or living elsewhere to save themselves, Tarn Taran police destroyed and confiscated almost all their property, both movable and immovable. Their houses, shops, cattle and cash were all either destroyed or taken away. Their standing crops were burnt down. Their agricultural implements, including tube-well motors to irrigate the lands, were removed. The total value of property lost by Manochahal family alone is estimated at Rs. 4,000,000.

Case No. 9: Thirty-seven years old Sarpanch Major Singh was a farmer and a transporter from Burj Kalara village under Hathur police Station in Jagraon subdivision of Ludhiana district. Married to Daljit Kaur, he was the father of three daughters and a son. The eldest daughter Sukhjinder Kaur is now fifteen. The youngest son Karanbir Singh is only six.
In 1992, Major Singh had been illegally held and tortured by then SSP Swaran Singh of Jagraon who later implicated him in a case under the Arms Act. But as the case was completely false, he was able to come out on bail.
Late in the evening of 3 May 1993, Rachpal Singh, SHO of Nihal Singh Wala police station, raided Major Singh's house along with other policemen and took him, his two brothers-in-law, Balbir Singh and Jagtar Singh, and his nephew Amarjit Singh into custody. All of them were taken to Nihal Singh Wala police station.
Immediately, the family members went to the police station where SHO Rachpal Singh demanded Rs. 150,000 to release Major Singh, Rs. 200,000 to release his brothers-in-law, and his transport truck belonging to Major Singh No. 4889 to arrest his nephew Amarjit on a formal charge. SHO Rachpal Singh was so earnest about his demands that the family had no way but to fulfill them in order to save the four lives. They gave him the money as also the truck that he demanded.
SHO Rashpal Singh used the truck to show an encounter in which Amarjit Singh and four other unidentified persons were shown killed. Later on, newspapers reported that Major Singh's own death in a supposed encounter. But the body was not returned to the family, nor were they given information on where the cremation had taken place. Balbir Singh and Jagtar Singh were later released.
Major Singh's mother Mahinder Kaur filed a petition before the Supreme Court through advocate R. S. Sodhi. The matter came up before Justice Kuldip Singh who ordered an inquiry by Chandigarh's Session's Judge Amar Dutt, to be completed in three months.
While the inquiry was underway, Justice Kuldeep Singh retired. In the course of the inquiry, the family produced Major Singh's brothers-in-law who had been picked up along with him but were later released. The entire village council of village Burj Kalara gave statements, corroborating the complaint. But the judge accepted the police version and said that the complaint remained unproven.
While the inquiry was underway, SSP Mithlesh Kumar of Faridkot returned to Mahinder Kaur Rs. 150,000/-, which SHO Rachhpal Singh had taken from her. The SSP returned the money to her in his own office in the presence of all the members of the village council. He also told them that Major Singh was still in custody and would be released after two months. Contacted after two months, he dodged inquiries and told them to meet the SSP of Jagraon.
Mahinder Kaur, who has filed this Incident-Report, says that Hardeep Singh, whose address she does not know, was killed along with Major Singh. Nephew Amarjit Singh was shown killed in a separate incident of supposed encounter along with Nachhatter Singh Fauji from village Daudhar and two others. Major Singh was the only son of Mahinder Kaur, a widow. She now suffers from cancer. Major Singh's widowed sister suffered a stroke some days after the incident and is now paralytic.

Case No. 10: Twenty-five years old Gurnam Singh was from village Dabwala Kalan under Ghaniye Ke Bangar police station in Batala subdivision of Gurdaspur district. He was unmarried and lived with his parents. Gurnam was a baptized Sikh and was active in Sikh religious and political activities.
After the Operation Blue Star in June 1984, Gurnam was picked up illegally by Batala police and tortured brutally in their custody. The police continued to raid the house and harass all the family members. Fed up by the constant harassment, Gurnam left his house and joined the ranks of Sikh militants.
Gurnam's becoming a fugitive meant unceasing troubles for the rest of the family. Sadar Batala police began to pick up other members of the family, including his father Shingara Singh, his mother Mahinder Kaur, his brothers Avtar Singh and Rachhpal Singh, Rachhpal's wife Harjit Kaur and several other relatives. They were kept regularly in illegal custody and tortured for information on Gurnam's whereabouts. His father Shingara Singh, and his brothers Avtar Singh and Hardial Singh were implicated in cases under TADA on charges of harboring terrorists. They were acquitted after trial by special courts.
In November 1988, Gurnam's third brother Rachhpal Singh and his wife Harjit Kaur were picked up by Inspector Santa Singh of CIA staff and SHO Gurpal Singh of Batala Sadar Station. First, both of them tortured brutally within the village itself in front of all people. They were beaten up with canes. Harjit Kaur was publicly humiliated and tortured with a thick wooden roller pressed on her thighs by four police men, and by other methods. After their public torture in the village itself, Rachhpal Singh and Harjit Kaur were taken to the Sadar police station. There again, they were tortured brutally under the supervision of Anil Kumar Sharma, SP (Head Quarters), but were finally released after one week at the intervention from the village council. Throughout this period, the family members, including their women, suffered extreme brutality.
On 13 December 1988, the family got to know that Gurnam had been arrested by Batala police from village Umarpura. Before that on 8 December, the police had abducted Gurmej Singh son of Jagir Singh and Harbhajan Singh son of Darshan Singh from the village. Gurmej Singh was a constable in the Punjab police who was held at Beeco Interrogation Center and tortured there.
Gurnam's father Shingara Singh was in Gurdaspur jail under TADA, so were his two brothers. Other members of the family had left the village to escape police torture. In these circumstances, they could not do anything to pursue the matter of Gurnam's illegal detention.
The family members found out that Gurnam Singh was tortured at Beeco Interrogation Center and in the night of 21 January 1989 shot dead near the bridge of village Jagle, in a so-called armed encounter, along with Sukhdev Singh from village Khode. Gurnam was described as an unidentified terrorist.
Punjabi Ajit carried a report on the so-called encounter in its issue dated 23 Janury 1989. The encounter was reported to have taken place between a group of militants and Batala police officers led by SP (Operations) Harbhajan Singh. The body was not returned to the family and was cremated by the police, the family does not know where. The information was corroborated by Gurmej Singh, former police constable who had been sent to jail after his interrogation at Beeco, when he came out of jail at the end of 1989.
Gurmej Singh revealed that he had been lodged at Beeco Interrogation Center along with Gurnam Singh from 11 December 1988 to 21 January 1989. That night the police had taken Gurnam Singh out of the lock up and killed him in a supposed encounter. According to him, Gurnam Singh had been tortured brutally, before his murder, by SSP Gobind Ram, SP (Head Quarters) Anil Kumar Sharma and Inspector Santa Singh.
Gurnam Singh's mother Mahinder Kaur became bed ridden after receiving the news of his arrest and murder, and died two years later. His father Shingara Singh, who had been tortured severely, died in 1995. After his release from jail, he was unable to do any physical work and had breathing difficulties, possibly from injuries on his chest received during torture.
Gurnam's brother Rachpal Singh, who has sent this Incident-Report, says that the police did not allow the family to cultivate their sixteen acres of land for one year, which caused a loss of Rs. 200,000.
Rachpal Singh reports that the police also abducted a cousin Manjit Singh, son of of Arjan Singh from Dargabad village and killed him. Another relative Gurinder Singh, son of Preetam Singh from Bhagowal village in Gurdaspur district was also captured and killed. Gurinder Singh had joined the ranks of Sikh militants.
Apart from these two relatives and Sukhdev Singh, who had been killed in the so-called encounter along with Gurnam Singh, the police also kidnapped and killed two others from Daabawali Kalan village: Sukhwinder Singh, son of Bakhshish Singh and Rachhpal Singh son of Harbhajan Singh.

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