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

INDIA HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT 2005 Punjab
Lambi police station in Muktsar district,
was allegedly paraded in the village
market after blackening his face and
putting a garland of shoes around his neck
by Gurcharan Singh, Chinder Singh and
Jagtar Singh of the same village. He was
earlier beaten up mercilessly for refusing
to work in their farms without payment of
wages. The police arrested the accused. 63
Upon his release on bail, accused
Gurcharan Singh allegedly threatened
Jagir Singh with life if he did not withdraw
the complaint and enter into a
compromise. 64
At Lehri village under Talwandi Sabo
in Bathinda district, the police allegedly
forcibly evicted a Dalit family on 9 June
2004 from their house in a colony set up
under the landless labour scheme by the
government. Sarbjit Kaur, a member of the
Dalit family, alleged that some policemen
came and threw all their belongings out of
the house in absence of any male member
and then facilitated the illegal possession
of the house by some residents of the
village, reportedly close to Akali leaders of
the area. The Dalit family had to spend the
whole night in the open. The police
allegedly beat up two of her kin and later
picked them up. The police also raided the
house of a landlord at Manua Ke village,
where Buta Singh, her husband, was
working as a farm assistant. Her husband
and her father-in-law Roop Singh had to
remain in hiding fearing police
harassment. 65
On 3 August 2004, two Dalits
identified as Gurjant Singh and Harminder
208
Singh were killed and 15 other injured
when a group of landlords opened
indiscriminate firing on a basti
(settlement) of the Dalits at Kamalpur
village near Dirba in Sangrur district
following a quarrel among the children of
the Dalits and landlords. Ten persons
belonging to the landlords were arrested
on 7 August 2004. The police reportedly
recovered two rifles allegedly used in the
firing. 66
On 23 November 2004, police
officials of Sujanpur allegedly detained
illegally and beat up a physically
challenged Dalit youth, Pawan Kumar of
Gosainpur village in Gurdaspur district at
the behest of politically influential people
with whom Pawan’s family had a dispute
over an adjoining wall. Pawan Kumar
alleged that sons of one Kuldeep Singh,
father-in-law of the village Sarpanch came
to his tailoring shop and started beating
him up. The police was called but the
policemen instead of protecting him
thrashed and detained him in the police
station under the charge of quarrelling.
Former BJP minister Satpal Saini later
rescued him from police custody. 67
On 6 December 2004, the committee
members of Gurdwara Sahib Chardi Kala
allegedly did not allow the marriage of
Kamaljeet Kaur, daughter of the Sarpanch
of Bahona village in Moga district at the
local Gurdwara. The committee members,
led by their chief, Rajinder Pal Singh,
stopped the marriage party of the groom
from Galoti village from entering the
Gurudwara Sahib Chardi Kala. 68