Chapter 10 Fake Encounters and Deaths in Police Custody [The recent release and immediate ban of the film “Sutlej”, depicting the brutal killing of human rights activist Sardar Jaswant Singh Khalra by the Punjab Police, has refocused international attention on human rights violations in Punjab, India. It has also generated meaningful public discussion and awareness, which is a welcome change in societal thinking. The ban on this film has had the opposite effect. The document in question is Chapter 10, “False Encounters and Deaths in Police Custody” (pp. 373–403) of my nearly 600-page 2011 book “Religion and Politics in Sikhism – The Khalsa Perspective” (Singh Brothers, Amritsar, ISBN: 81-7205-461-0).
It contains important details about the deaths of Sardar Jaswant Singh Khalra and Sardar Kuljit Singh Dhatt—a relative of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, one of India’s most revered national heroes. It also investigates the disappearance of thousands of young Sikhs and several human rights activists who lost their lives in protest against political repression. Apart from some minor typographical or formatting corrections, no attempt has been made to alter the content, dates, figures or important facts of this document since its original publication.
Every effort has been made to preserve the original form and meaning of the original chapters while translating. I am very grateful to the Honourable Advocate Rajwinder Singh Bains, who provided me with a copy of the legal file relating to the case of S. Kuljit Singh Dhatt many years ago. Author: Tarlochan Singh Nahal*] Human Rights Violations This chapter describes the fake police encounters and deaths in police custody related to the Sikh struggle in Punjab.
It also shows how ordinary Sikhs and human rights activists were targeted and killed by the Punjab Police and security forces. This chapter is based on reports of various human rights organisations, court documents, newspapers, magazines and personal interviews. Some information has also been collected from the websites of prominent human rights activists, including the website of the late Shri R. N. Kumar. “Police encounter” is the term used by the Indian police and security forces to describe the death of a person in their custody who they consider to be a terrorist or a wanted person. In essence, it means the unlawful and unjust killing of an innocent and unarmed person in the guise of a fake police encounter.
Such extrajudicial killings of civilians are a daily occurrence in various parts of India. It is usually said that the person concerned was trying to escape from police custody or that he opened fire on the police during a stop or checkpoint. This is not to say that real police encounters never occurred. Certainly, there have been very real encounters with the police and other security forces. In such cases, both sides suffered casualties and physical harm. According to the US State Department:
“The government generally respected the rights of its citizens; however, serious problems persisted. The main problems included custodial deaths (extrajudicial killings), cases of disappearances, and torture and rape by the police and other security forces.” Henri Tiphagne of the NGO People’s Watch says: “The problem of torture is very serious. Today, about 1.8 million cases of police torture are reported in India every year.” According to Meenakshi Ganguly of Human Rights Watch, almost every police station in India can be held responsible for allegations of torture. However, during the insurgency in Punjab, the story was often not limited to police torture—it often ended with individuals “disappearing” under the guise of “police encounters.” Beant Singh and K.P.S. Gill – A Deadly Pair In 1992, Beant Singh, a Congress Party candidate, was elected Chief Minister of Punjab and formed the government in Punjab.
All major Sikh organizations and armed groups made a serious strategic mistake by boycotting the elections. These organizations asked people to stay home on election day, which resulted in a voter turnout of only about 28 percent.
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