Studied for a post-graduate degree in Punjabi literature and became a Gyani

Under Sl. Nos. 95/278, 96/279, 97/280 and 98/281, the list identifies four cremations on 03 November 1990, carried out by Inspector Jagdish Singh of Tarn Taran’s Sadar police station under FIR No. 106/90. They are of: [1] Sukhwinder Singh alias Sanga, s/o Gulzar Singh Jat, r/o Sanga, [2] Baljeet Singh, alias Bali, s/o Makhan Singh Jat, r/o Khala, [3] Vikramjit Singh, s/o Gopal Singh, r/o Narula and [4] Manjeet Singh s/o Gian Singh Lubhana, r/o Chatiwind. The postmortem reports are marked as PS 72/90, PS 73/90, AK 94/90 and PS 74/90. The cause of death is recorded as “police encounter”.

The Committee has the following information about the cases of Sukhwinder Singh, Baljit Singh and Vikramjit Singh through its Incident-Report Form Nos. CCDP/01464, 01625 and 01542. The main informants are Mohinder Kaur, Swaran Kaur and Gopal Singh, mothers of Sukhwinder and Baljit and the father of Vikramjit, respectively.

As a student at Khalsa College, Amritsar, Sukhwinder had joined the All India Sikh Students Federation and participated in the agitation launched by the Akali Dal before Operation Blue Star in June 1984. After June 1984, Sukhwinder joined the militant movement and at the time of his death, when he was 28, he was leading an outfit known as Bhindranwala Tigers Force.

Twenty-one year old Baljit Singh, s/o Makhan Singh and Swaran Kaur, was from village Khela, post office Fatiabad under Goindwal police station, in Khadur Sahib subdivision of Amritsar district. Baljit, a baptized and devout Sikh, was a graduate and was involved with the political situation in Punjab. Although his involvement was political, the police began to harass him. After attending a political meeting at village Pangota, the Patti police arrested him and tortured him savagely. He was implicated in a case under TADA and had to spend three years in jail where he studied for a post-graduate degree in Punjabi literature and became a “Gyani”. When the police started to raid his house, even after his release from jail, Baljit decided to join the underground resistance and left home. The police then started torturing his family members. His father was taken into custody several times and brutally tortured. Also, Baljit’s younger brother Sudhjit Singh was later implicated in a false murder case.

Twenty-four year old Vikramjit Singh, s/o Gopal Singh and Gurdeep Kaur, from village Narla under Khalra police station in Patti subdivision of Amritsar district was a B. A. 2nd year student at the Government College at Patti. The June 1984 Indian army’s assault on the Golden Temple had impacted Vikramjit very deeply, and he began to support the idea of an armed resistance to India’s atrocities against the Sikhs. The police became suspicious and started to raid the house to arrest him. But Vikramjit slipped away and joined the underground. The police then started harassing his family members, arresting his father and other relatives, and torturing them under interrogation. The family was also not allowed to cultivate their farmland.

On 03 November 1990, Sukhwinder, Baljit, Vikramjit and two of their associates, Manjit Singh and Nirmaljit Singh, were killed in what appears to be a genuine encounter with the Tarn Taran police, led by SP (Operations) Khubi Ram, near village Bhullar. The police carried out the cremations without informing the family members. The encounter was reported prominently by all newspapers the next day. The press reports also identified all the slain militants, including Nirmaljit Singh, by their names. However, the CBI’s list of identified cremations does not show Nirmaljit’s name. His name is included in the partially identified list under Sl. No. 20/282.

The families of these militants continued to suffer persecution even after their sons had been killed. The police often picked up and tortured members of Sukhwinder’s family. They also prevented his family from cultivating their land for several years. Two of his brothers, Balwinder Singh Billu and Khushdeep Singh, were arrested and disappeared. They were picked up on 23 June 1992 outside Gurdwara Bhaini Sahib when they were going with several others to attend a ceremonial feast at village Chhandra organized to commemorate the killing of another militant leader, Rachhpal Singh Chhandra. The arrest was made by DSP Dalip Singh of Ludhiana district. Three days later, DSP Dalip Singh told their mother Mohinder Kaur and a group of village elders who had come with her that both of them were under interrogation at the CIA staff center at Khanna and advised them to meet SSP Raj Kishan Bedi of Khanna. Raj Kishan Bedi claimed that he had handed both of them to SSP Ajit Singh Sandhu of Tarn Taran police for investigations. But Ajit Sindh Sandhu denied ever having taken the two boys into his custody.

Two of Baljit’s close relatives were also picked up and killed. His nephew Satnam Singh, s/o Deedar Singh was arrested from his house and killed in a faked encounter by the Majitha police. His uncle Balkar Singh Fauji alias Babbu, s/o Dalip Singh was also picked up from his house and eliminated in a faked encounter. ')"

Electric cooker wiring.