Committee for Information and Initiative on Punjab

News Update: NHRC orders publication of notice in Punjab newspapers soliciting affidavits from victim families.

Committee for Information and Initiative on Punjab (CIIP)

Committee for Information
and Initiative on Punjab (CIIP)

The Committee for Information and Initiative on Punjab (CIIP) traces its origins to Delhi's anti-Sikh pogroms during November 1984, in the wake of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's assassination. The pogroms were orchestrated by politicians and silently condoned by the security forces. Most members of CIIP were involved in the rescue and relief efforts.

CIIP, located in Delhi, is a member organization of the Committee for Coordination on Disappearances in Punjab (CCDP), located in Chandigarh. CIIP worked to corroborate the findings of Jaswant Singh Khalra, the General Secretary of the Akali Dal's Human Rights Wing. In 1995, Khalra initiated the public interest litigation on the matter of police abductions leading to secret cremations in Punjab. Khalra disappeared following his abduction by armed commandos of the Punjab police on 6 September 1995.

On the basis of these investigations, CIIP moved the Supreme Court of India through Writ Petition (Crl.) No. 447/95 to demand a comprehensive inquiry. In December 1996, the Supreme Court referred the matter to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to investigate all legal implications of this matter of illegal cremations. CIIP continues to represent the victim families before the NHRC, with the support of CCDP's investigation team.