I killed 83 innocent Sikhs in staged encounters on directions of high ups in Punjab Police: Surjit Singh (SI)

July 2, 2013 | By Sikh Siyasat Bureau

Tarn Taran, Punjab (July 02, 2013): A Punjab cop has made a statement before media that exposes the systematic and widespread human rights abuses carried by Punjab police during 1980s-90s in Punjab. Sub-Inspector Surjit Singh has admitted before media that he killed 83 innocent Sikhs during early-1990s in Punjab. Surjit Singh told media persons that he went on Punjab police training in 1989 and was deployed as a constable in 1990 after his training.

Surjit Singh revealed that he was asked by senior police officers to killed Sikh youth who had already been in police custody. As a result of following these orders he was soon promoted as SHO of Police Station Mehta, he said.

Surjit Singh furhter revealed that he was promoted as SHO of Mehta by SSP Paramjit Singh Gill, who is currently Commissioner of Police in Ludhaina.

“I was a constable (sipahi) and I was promoted as SHO. What was the reason for it? – that I and Gill Sahib both know”, Surjit Singh told media persons while speaking in Punjabi.

He clearly stated that the high police officials directed him to carry out fake encounters and he got appreciation and promotions for carrying out these fake encounters.

Surjit Singh admitted that he killed 83 Sikh youth in fake encounters on the directions of high ups in Punjab police.

In a news reported by a TV channel ‘Day and Night News’, journalist Dharamvir Malhar informed that when the issue surged before Tarn Taran media, various journalists attempted to get comments from Tarn Taran SSP Rajbir Singh Hundal who denied to meet media persons. But when SSP Rajbir Singh Hundal came to know that Surjit Singh has exposed misdeeds of police before the media, he attempted to get the news blocked. SSP Hundal sent various police officers to persuade media persons to not to report the news. Dharamvir Malhar informed that journalists were angry over the attempts of police to suppress the media.

Surjit Singh, who has been reportedly suspended by Tarn Taran police now, claimed before media that his life was in danger and Gill could get him eliminated. He said that SSP Rajbir Singh Hundal had threatened to kill him. ‘SSP Hundal threatened me that my dead body would be found in river’, he added.

These disclosures have once against put the human rights abuses by Punjab police in focus, that were widespread and systematic during 1980s-1990s. Thousands of innocent Sikh youth were killed in custody. The Punjab police had invented a practise of ‘staged encounter’ or ‘fake encounter’ in which the police used to kill persons already in their custody and later staged a story that such persons were killed in a police encounter. The dead bodies of victims were secretly cremated by the Punjab police as ‘unclaimed/unidentified dead bodies’.

Human Rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra had exposed these abuses with documentary proof, and as a result of his relentless activism Jaswant Singh Khalra was killed during ‘enforced disappearance’. Recently the Supreme Court of India confirmed that at least 2097 Sikhs were killed and secretly cremated by Indian security forces.

Related Video – source: Day and Night News





Tweet

WhatsApp

(1) Save Our WhatsApp Number 0091-855-606-7689 to your phone contacts; and

(2) Send us Your Name via WhatsApp . Click Here to Send WhatsApp Message Now.

Sikh Siyasat is on Telegram Now. Subscribe to our Telegram Channel

Related Topics: Fake Encounters, Human Rights, Punjab Police, Punjab Police Atrocities