wfn.org | Punjab (India) Cops Convicted in 1995 Murder of Activist

[World Sikh Council - America Region <contact@worldsikhcouncil.org>]

Press Release by ENSAAF

PUNJAB COPS CONVICTED IN 1995 MURDER OF ACTIVIST KHALRA;
KPS GILL REMAINS FREE

November 18, 2005

On Friday, November 18, 2005, Additional District Judge
Bhupinder Singh in Patiala convicted six Punjab police
officials in the 1995 abduction and murder case of human
rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra. The court sentenced
Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Jaspal Singh and
Amarjit Singh to life imprisonment for murder, abduction
with intent to murder, destruction of evidence, and criminal
conspiracy. The court sentenced officers Satnam Singh,
Surinderpal Singh, Pritpal Singh, and Jasbir Singh to seven
years imprisonment for abduction with intent to murder, two
years imprisonment for destruction of evidence, and five
years imprisonment for criminal conspiracy. Senior
Superintendent of Police (SSP) Ajit Singh Sandhu, the
primary accused, and DSP Ashok Kumar died during the
trial of the case. The earlier acquittal of accused Rashpal
Singh is on appeal to the High Court.

Through government records, Mr. Khalra demonstrated
that security forces abducted, murdered, and secretly
cremated an estimated 25,000 Sikhs in Punjab from 1984
to 1995. In early 1995, Mr. Khalra warned at a press
conference that the Punjab government ?was highly
mistaken in thinking that by eliminating him the matter
relating to 25,000 unclaimed bodies? in Punjab ?[could]
be put to an end.? He further stated that he was prepared
to die for the cause of justice, and appealed to the people
to ?hold the police chief KPS Gill? accountable for his
murder and the mass cremations in Punjab. Punjab police
abducted Mr. Khalra on September 6, 1995, tortured him
in detention, and killed him in late October 1995.

Mrs. Paramjit Kaur Khalra, widow of Mr. Khalra, welcomed
today?s verdicts, but reiterated her demand that former Punjab
police chief KPS Gill also be tried. During the Khalra trial,
Special Police Officer (SPO) Kuldip Singh testified that he
witnessed KPS Gill interrogate Mr. Khalra several days prior
to his murder. SPO Kuldip Singh also testified that Mr. Khalra
had been tortured. Despite this testimony, no officer was
charged with Mr. Khalra?s torture, nor was KPS Gill charged or
summoned for examination.

ENSAAF commends and appreciates Mrs. Paramjit Kaur Khalra
for persevering in her fight for truth and justice, and also
commends her legal team, led by Rajvinder Singh Bains, for
putting the best case forward, despite threats. In his arguments
and rebuttal before the Court, Mr. Bains highlighted: the death
threats received by Mr. Khalra from Punjab police because of his
investigations into mass cremations; the eyewitnesses to his
abduction, illegal detention, torture, and disposal of his body; the
suppression of key evidence by the government prosecutor;
intimidation and implication of witnesses in false cases by the
accused police officers to prevent witnesses from testifying; and
failings in police alibis.

These convictions represent a major victory against impunity for
systematic human rights abuses in Punjab. The convictions should
mark the beginning of a new chapter of accountability, signaling an
end to impunity for hundreds of perpetrators who committed torture
and murder, among other abuses, during the Punjab counter-
insurgency operations of 1984 to 1995.

ENSAAF (http://www.ensaaf.org), a U.S.-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit
organization fighting impunity in India, works to bring perpetrators
to justice, investigates and exposes human rights violations, and
organizes survivors to engage in advocacy.

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World Sikh Council ­ America Region (WSC-AR)
P.O. Box 3635, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA
Phone: 614-210-0591, Fax: 419-535-6794
Email: contact@worldsikhcouncil.org
Website: http://www.worldsikhcouncil.org

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