annual report print final.qxd - Asian Centre for Human Rights

INDIA HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT 2005 Punjab
encounter with the police. However,
Patiala’s Special Judge rejected the CBI
report on 9 April 2003. 14
Impunity is rampant. The perpetrators
responsible for the disappearance of
Jaswant Singh Kalra, who disappeared
while investigating into the
disappearances are yet to be punished. 15
ii. Arbitrary deprivation of the right to
life
Punjab witnessed large number of
arbitrary, summary and extrajudicial
executions. The Punjab State Human
Rights Commission recorded 87 cases of
custodial deaths between 1st January and
30 November 2004. Of these only 32 cases
have been disposed off by the
Commission. In 2003, 92 custodial death
cases were reported to the PSHRC. 16 The
NHRC had registered 53 cases of custodial
deaths in 1999-2000, 61 cases in 2000-
2001, 77 cases in 2001-2002 and 74 cases
in 2002-2003. 17
On the evening of 18 January 2004,
Harvinder Singh, a resident of Kalabula
village in Sangrur district reportedly died
in the custody of Sherpur police station
after he was summoned there for
interrogations about a Maruti car whose
engine number and chassis number were
different from the numbers mentioned in
registration book. He was rushed to the
Sherpur Hospital from where he was
referred to Dhuri Hospital. He was
declared “brought dead” at Dhuri hospital.
The police claimed that the victim
suddenly fell unconscious during
200
interrogations. But, the residents alleged
that the deceased was tortured to death.
The SHO Kulwinder Singh was suspended
and a case of murder was registered
against him and other guilty police
officials. 18 On 18 February 2004, Punjab
police reportedly arrested SHO Kulwinder
Singh and constable Sohan Singh. 19
On 21 April 2004, a truck driver Jasbir
Singh died in the civil hospital after being
allegedly beaten up by some police
officials while in custody at the division
number 8 police station near Lamba Pind
chowk in Jalandhar on 19 April 2004. The
villagers alleged that he was tortured to
death. 20 A magisterial inquiry was ordered
into the killing. 21
On 4 May 2004, Harjit Singh, a
resident of Kalanaur in Gurdaspur district,
was reportedly picked up from his home in
the presence of his wife Surinder Kaur for
interrogation in connection with a vehicle
theft case. Surinder Kaur alleged that three
days later, she along with her brother saw
her husband lying on the floor in the police
lock-up in a critical condition. Later, she
learnt about her husband’s death in
Government Guru Nanak Hospital,
Amritsar. 22
On 7 June 2004, Rakesh Kumar of
Rakran Dhahan village reportedly died in
police custody of the Balachaur Police
Station under Nawanshahr district. Police
claimed that he had committed suicide by
hanging himself from a low-lying tap in
the police station bathroom with his
pyjamas. While a police officer insisted on
the use of pyjamas, another police official