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 disap