Shaheed Bhai Jaswant Singh Ji Khalra (humanrights)

[Nirvair S Khalsa]

Vaheguroo Jee Kaa Khalsa, Vaheguroo Jee Kee Phateh!!!

Bhai Jaswant Singh Ji Khalra

A Martyr for Human Rights

Do you know what he did?

Between 1984 and 1995, Indian security forces abducted, tortured, and killed more than 25 thousand Sikhs in "faked encounters". The police did not return the bodies to the families, but instead illegally cremated them or threw them into canals. Jaswant Singh Khalra investigated and exposed these "disappearances". He gathered government records documenting how Punjab police abducted and killed Sikhs, and then cremated the victims as "unidentified".

... and what happened to him?

The evidence gathered by Khalra exposed the human rights abuses of the Punjab Police and Indian government. Punjab Police, under instructions from police chief KPS Gill, abducted Khalra on September 6, 1995. The police brutally tortured him for a number of days but he did not bend under their pressure. Ultimately, in late October, the police shot and killed Khalra and threw his body into a river. Ten years later, no one has been held responsible for his murder despite the evidence implicating police officers in his torture and killing.

IT HAS NOW BEEN TEN YEARS.....

Vaheguroo Jee Kaa Khalsa, Vaheguroo Jee Kee Phateh!!!

[Nirvair S Khalsa]

...and what is done after 10 years?.......

6 convicted for killing rights activist Khalra

Chander Parkash and Rubinder Gill

Tribune News Service

DSP Jaspal Singh (right)who was sentenced to life imprisonment in the Jaswant Singh Khalra case at Patiala on Friday.

— Tribune photo by Rajesh Sachar

Patiala, November 18

dsp Jaspal Singh and ASI Amarjit Singh were sentenced to life imprisonment and four others awarded seven-year rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 5,000 each in the Jaswant Singh Khalra disappearance case by the District and Additional Sessions Judge Bhupinder Singh here today.

The accused had been booked by the CBI under Sections 302, 201, 364, 120-B and 34 for murder, destroying of evidence, kidnapping with intent to murder and conspiracy.

Jaspal Singh and Amarjit Singh were found guilty for murder and destroying of evidence while SHO Satnam Singh, SHO Surinderpal Singh, SHO Jasbir Singh and Head Constable Prithipal Singh were found guilty of kidnapping with an intent to murder and hatching a conspiracy.

They were awarded seven years imprisonment for kidnapping and five years for hatching a conspiracy. Both sentences will run simultaneously. All convicted are serving police officers except Surinderpal Singh, who has retired from the police.

Incidentally, DSP Jaspal Singh and SHO Satnam Singh were awarded the President's Police Medal for fighting militancy in the state. Jaspal Singh is also embroiled in another murder case of Harbhajan Singh Dhatt, nephew of Bhagat Singh, and is currently out on bail.

The clinching evidence in the case was provided by SPO Kuldip Singh, who was the gunman of SHO Satnam Singh at the time of Khalra's disappearance. He had once retracted his statement but later said it had been done under police pressure.

Paramjit Kaur Khalra, wife of Jaswant Singh Khalra, said she would have preferred capital punishment to the guilty. Lawyers of both parties said they would appeal in the high court against the verdict.

The CBI had initially presented the challan in the court against nine police personnel on October 30, 1996. Besides the six sentenced by the court, the challan included Tarn Taran SSP Ajit Singh Sandhu, DSP Ashok Kumar and Head Constable Rashpal Singh. Ajit Singh Sandhu had committed suicide by jumping in front of a running train in May, 1998 while Ashok Kumar died due to illness. Rashpal Singh was later discharged from the case.

Satnam Singh was then SHO, Jhabal police station, Surinderpal Singh was serving as SHO, Sarhali, and Jasbir Singh was the SHO, Manochahal police station.

Jaswant Singh Khalra, who was the general secretary of the Human Rights Organisation, had gone missing on September 6, 1995, from his residence at 8, Kabir Park, Amritsar, during Beant Singh's tenure. His wife moved the Supreme Court on September 9, 1995, and on November 11 that year, the Supreme Court ordered the CBI to probe the case.

[Nirvair S Khalsa]

...and I agree with her, 10 years, two get life imprisonment, the other four get a few years each, NO one getting hanged, and no mention of the dog KP GILL yet?? :lol:

Khalra’s wife unhappy over verdict

Paramjit Kaur Khalra with her counsel Brijinder Singh Sodhi at District Courts in Patiala on Friday.

— Photo by Rajesh Sachar

Tribune News Service

Patiala, November 18

With the indictment of Punjab Police personnel involved in the disappearance of her husband Jaswant Singh Khalra, Paramjit Kaur Khalra is a relieved women. She is not happy with the quantum of the punishment, but feels her husband’s work and their efforts to unmask the unlawful working of the Punjab Police have borne fruit.

“Today’s verdict has proved that these people were behind the disappearance of my husband and his murder. It has brought to the fore the black deeds of the police. Since my husband was working on unmasking the fake encounters, they planned to eliminating him.”

The case has been an emotional rollercoaster ride for her family. “I am not emotional about it any more. Ten years we have struggled to get justice for my husband and his mission. By the grace of God, my children have handled the whole trauma well. They have suffered but have supported me in my grief and efforts to get justice.”

Looking ahead, she says the mission started by Jaswant Singh Khalra is of prime importance and the committee looks forward to taking it a step forward.

She sought capital punishment for the accused . “I am not satisfied with the verdict. They should have been hanged. We have fought for justice for 10 years and only two of them have been given life imprisonment. What did the rest get? Seven years and five years.”

In fact, one of her counsel Brijinder Singh Sodhi, also reiterated her statement and said they would move the Punjab and Haryana High Court against the decision and seek death penalty for all accused.

Hitting out at former DGP KPS Gill, Mr Sodhi said he would ask the CBI to investigate the role of KPS Gill and two other head constables.

On January 16, 1995, Jaswant Singh Khalra and Jaspal Singh Dhillon, general secretary and chairman, respectively of the Human Rights Organisation of the SAD, released a report of nearly 25,000 bodies which were allegedly cremated by the police as they were lying unclaimed. Three days later, Mr K.P.S Gill issued a statement in the media that Khalra’s claims were unsubstantiated and that all “missing” persons had actually gone abroad. The very next day, Khalra, speaking at a press conference, challenged Mr Gill’s statement and invited him to have an open debate on the issue.

Again on February 27, Khalra, while addressing a press conference, said that he had been receiving threatening calls and was asked to scuttle the investigations. He also claimed that Tarn Taran SSP Ajit Singh Sandhu was in the process of destroying evidence and had demanded that the police officer should be transferred from Tarn Taran to some other place as he was hampering the investigation process.

On July 29, 1995, Jaswant Singh Khalra again held a press conference at Amritsar where he reiterated that he had been receiving threats and he communicated the same to the then SGPC chief G.S. Tohra and Mr Justice Ajit Singh Bains.

On September 6,1995, Khalra was kidnapped from his 8, Kabir park residence at Amritsar allegedly by Punjab Police personnel.

[Nirvair S Khalsa]

...I wouldn't say this is justice yet... ...

Truth triumphs: eyewitness

Tribune Reporters

Amritsar, November 18“Though late, it is the victory of truth”, says Mr Kirpal Singh Randhawa, the key eyewitness in the abduction of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, who exposed mass cremations of unidentified bodies during peak of militancy in ‘false’ encounters and custodial deaths.

Jaswant Singh Khalra was allegedly kidnapped by certain senior police officials from his residence in Kabir park locality here on September 6, 1995. He was allegedly killed in police custody and his body was later disposed off by accused policemen.

Mr Randhawa, who is also deputy chairman Punjab Human Rights Organization (PHRO), said, “At last we have got justice”. He said they had together started their service to fight for human rights of the common man who were implicated in false cases by the police during terrorism.

He claimed that he had to face harassment also for this as false cases of rape and attempt to murder were registered against him at various police stations in the state so as to pressurise him.

Meanwhile, the residents of Khalra village, the native village of human rights activist, expressed their satisfaction on the verdict.

[Nirvair S Khalsa]

'Police guilty' in Punjab killing

By Asit Jolly

BBC News, Chandigarh

Six policemen in the north Indian state of Punjab have been convicted of abducting and killing a leading human rights activist.

Jaswant Singh Khalra exposed what he said were widespread rights abuses and extrajudicial killings of Sikh separatists by police in the 1990s.

He disappeared after being abducted from his home in the city of Amritsar in September 1995.

Two policemen were jailed for life and four others for five years each.

Analysts said Friday's verdict was significant because it was the first acknowledgement that the Indian state had turned a blind eye to violations committed in the name of combating Sikh separatists.

Appeal considered

The court in Patiala convicted the men despite the fact the body of Khalra was never found.

Colleagues and prominent international human rights organisations had alleged that Khalra was kidnapped, tortured and murdered by police.

The investigation was handed over to the federal Central Bureau of Investigation following petitions from the missing activist's wife.

Two policemen were given life imprisonment on separate counts of murder, kidnapping and criminal conspiracy.

Four junior police personnel were sentenced to five years and fined 5,000 rupees ($110).

Two other accused policemen died during the course of the long trial.

Khalra's wife, Paramjit Kaur, welcomed the verdicts but said the trial had been "inordinately delayed" and the sentences were too lenient.

She said she would consult her lawyers before deciding on an appeal for stronger sentences.

She reiterated her demand that former Punjab police chief KPS Gill also be tried.

[Nirvair S Khalsa]

.....2 get life imprisonment, 4 get a few years each, the dog KP GILL not even mentioned at all!!!.....

Is this justice??

I THINK NOT!!!

Vaheguroo Jee Kaa Khalsa, Vaheguroo Jee Kee Phateh!!!

[Nirvair S Khalsa]

Vaheguroo Jee Kaa Khalsa, Vaheguroo Jee Kee Phateh!!!

Justice delayed is justice denied

Sunday 27th November, 2005

D S Gill - Chair IHRO

Justice delayed is justice denied

Partial justice was delivered in Khalra murder case

We must continue to get justice till KPS Gill is punished

Jaswant Singh Khalra, General Secretary of the Human Right Wing of the Shiromani Akali Dal, a Sikh political party, was picked up by the police from his home at 8 Kabir Park, Amritsar, at 9:15 a.m. on September 6, 1995 and had not been seen since. Amnesty International sought the intervention of Home Minister S. B. Chavan and Punjab Chief Minster Harcharan Singh Brar for the release of Mr. Khalra. It expressed fears about his safety, saying: "He has not been produced in court and his relatives have not been officially informed about his whereabouts." International Human Rights Organisation (IHRO) also urged his immediate release. IHRO Chairperson D. S. Gill asked the Chief Minister Mr Brar to personally intervene and ensure Mr. Khalra's release. An Akali Dal delegation led by Gurcharan Singh Tohra, President, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), in the meantime met, Punjab Governor B. K. N. Chhibber.

On September 12, the Supreme Court of India issued notice to the Punjab Police and the state government to explain the disappearance. It treated the telegram sent by the SGPC president Mr. Tohra as a habeas corpus petition and heard the petition filed by Paramjit Kaur, spouse of Mr. Khalra. In her petition, Ms Khalra alleged that the Tarn Taran police had picked up her spouse using the assassination of Beant Singh as an excuse. In actuality, however, the Tarn Taran police wanted to settle a score with him as he had enabled several victims of police excesses to file cases in the high court that had put the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Ajit Singh Sandhu, in a tight spot.

A large number of political and human rights groups gathered at Chandigarh on September 28 to protest against the disappearance. More than 200 human rights and political activists joined the protest march to Raj Bhawan (Governor’s home) barefooted on that day. They included Simranjit Singh Mann, Harcharan Singh Rode, Justice A. S. Bains, D. S. Gill, R. N. Kumar, Gurtej Singh, Ranjan Lakhanpal, Gurdip Singh, Gurbhajan Singh Gill and Kalyan Singh Patna Sahib. As a followup, IHRO called upon Sikh and other human rights groups to celebrate December 10, the UN Human Rights Day as protest day against Mr. Khalra's disappearance. Protests and demonstrations were held in India, North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Asian and African countries.

There was a protest march to Parliament in New Delhi. Hundreds of protesters demonstrated near Parliament Police Station, where they held a rally. They accused the government of allowing the security forces in Punjab to violate the rule of law. Supreme Court lawyer and eminent human rights activist Ms Nitya Ramaswamy warned: "If the institutional remedies against such violations were not forthcoming, bonds of nationhood that bind the people with the state shall cease to be." Ms Sudesh Vaid alleged: "The CBI lacks the necessary power and independence to determine the truth in case of serious human rights violation by important functionaries of the security forces, especially in Punjab," reports United News of India (UNI).

According to the UNI story filed by Jaspal Singh Sidhu, Sikh Student Federation (SSF) leader Rajinder Singh Mehta, well-known human rights activist D. S. Gill, Justice A. S. Bains and former Akal Takht Jathedar Bhai Jasbir Singh Rode were among the several other personalities who participated and spoke at the rally. Akal Takht acting Jathedar Prof. Manjit Singh also joined the march besides several other Akali leaders. They included Mr. Tohra, President, SGPC, Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa (Badal group), Sucha Singh Chhotepur (Mann Group), DSGMC president and its membership. Members of PUCL and PUDR and other civil rights groups too joined the protest march.

In a memorandum to UK Prime Minister John Major, IHRO European President, Barrister Harjit Singh said: "The worrying aspect of the Khalra saga is that it is not an isolated incident. In Punjab, such cases are legion. In 1992 another human rights activist and lawyer, Kulwant Singh Saini, along with his young spouse and 15 month-old son, was killed by the police when Saini turned up at the police station to represent a client. It was the family's misfortune to accompany him to the police station. Clearly, the police wanted no witnesses. Other three Sikh lawyers working in the human rights field have also been killed since. The Indian Constitution and the Indian Penal and Criminal Procedure Codes do provide safeguards against unacknowledged detentions but these are of little use in practice. In such cases and particularly in instances of 'disappearances,' cases brought before the courts move extremely slowly. Another exasperating factor is that the Chief Minister of Punjab and the Director General of Punjab Police, KPS Gill, have been working hand in glove. Indeed, KPS Gill is the political overlord in the state and is responsible for thousands of extrajudicial killings. We, therefore, urge you to intercede with the Indian authorities to ensure Mr. Khalra’s release forthwith; alternatively that he is brought before the courts and charged.”

Responding to the memorandum, John Major asked the Foreign Office to reply. FL Gristock, South Asia Department, in its letter of December 1995, informed the IHRO European office: "Our High Commission in New Delhi is monitoring the case of Mr Khalra and has on several occasions, most recently on 12 December, raised this case with the Indian Government." IHRO North America Coordinator Gurdev Singh Gill, in a similar memorandum to Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, said: "Since you are leading a large team to India for investment purposes we strongly feel that it is the right time to remind you about Mr Khalra's disappearance. Canadian short-term economic interests should never prevail over human lives. Canada being a champion of Human Rights, you may please consider linking every agreement signed with Government of India with correcting their human rights record. Let us make loud and clear that unabated human rights violation and suppression of minorities can no longer be tolerated in the New World order. I therefore urge you to intercede with the Indian Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao to ensure Mr. Khalra's release." Mr Chrétien took up the case with Mr Rao and Mr Brar, while in New Delhi. It is believed that he had also met Ms Khalra there. Canadian Foreign Minister, Andre Ouellette, in a letter to the IHRO coordination office, Toronto, told that they had raised the matter with Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee in the United Nations, New York, in October and in the meeting of the Heads of Commonwealth Countries at Auckland, New Zealand, in November last.

Colleen Beaumier, MP, also lobbied to obtain Mr Khalra' release. She mobilized other MPs. and Senators. Herb Dhaliwal and Gurbax Singh Malhi, both Sikh MPs, who had accompanied Mr Chrétien to India, did a lot in this case on behalf of the Sikh community there. IHRO and some Sikh organisations joined hands in Toronto and observed January 26 as "black day" in protest against the disappearance. The protesters appealed to their fellow Canadians to rethink their policy of trade missions to a country like India that has a bad record of human rights. Twenty-four Sikh organisations of the United States of America and Canada, in an advertisement published in New York Times on the opinion page in December, accused India of state terrorism. They said that Mr Khalra (about whom President Bill Clinton has showed his concern) was indeed arrested and disappeared after he filed a legal petition that the Punjab police had killed and cremated hundreds of Sikhs.

US Members of Congress John Doolittle and Dan Burton, in their resolution (No 233 of September 28, 1995) in House of Representatives, condemned the disappearance, saying: "The House joins World Sikh Organisation in condemning the abduction of Mr Khalra and urging his immediate release." Rep. Vic Fazio and 60 other Members of Congress wrote to Mr Rao, expressing their concern about Mr Khalra's fate.

Despite hundreds of petitions from all over the world and numerous demonstrations, the Punjab police continued dilly-dallying. It was only last week that the CBI court at Patiala awarded mild sentence of life imperisomment to DSP Jaspal Singh and others, while completely ignoring the role of KPS Gill in the murder of Mr Khalra. We must continue to get justice for Mr Khalra till KPS Gill is also punished.

D S Gill,

Chair IHRO

International Human Rights Organisation

210, New District Judicial Courts Complex, Ludhiana

098554 70092, Tel & Fax: 91 161 5009 210

Editors can be reached at editors@panthic.org - PANTIC WEEKLY ARTICLE

Vaheguroo Jee Kaa Khalsa, Vaheguroo Jee Kee Phateh!!!

[Nirvair S Khalsa]

Khalra panel cries foul

Paramjeet Kaur Khalra

Tarn Taran, November 30 2005

The Khalra Mission Committee (KMC) and the Punjab Human Rights Organisation (PHRO) in a press statement issued here today alleged that the policemen convicted in the Jaswant Singh Khalra murder case were moving freely.

Ms Paramjit Kaur Khalra, wife of Mr Khalra of the KMC, and Justice Ajit Singh Bains and Mr Kirpal Singh Randhawa, chairman and deputy chairman of the PHRO, alleged that workers of their organisations had seen Jasbir Singh Bhagupur, former SHO of Manochahal, moving on a motor cycle on November 24 at Patti, while Satnam Singh, former SHO of Chabal, was seen in Batala the same day. The signatories said that they had proofs in this matter. The signatories demanded a judicial inquiry into the allegation.

The leaders further alleged that the state government, the Union home ministry and the Director-General of Police, Punjab, Mr S.S. Virk, are behind this illegal act.

Vaheguroo Jee Kaa Khalsa, Vaheguroo Jee Kee Phateh!!!

[kuljeet]

Whats the point of people even talking about these things?

I mean all we all wanna do is do our kirtan, practice gatka (oh sorry i mean shastar vidhya), and live and let live.