30. Under Sl. No. 108/137, the list shows a 22 November 1990 cremation carried out by Gharinda police station. The FIR and the postmortem report numbers are not given. The cause of death is given to be "police encounter".
The Committee's Incident-Report Form No. CCDP/00337 reveals the following information about this cremation.
Twenty-year old Gurmeet Singh alias Billa, son of Gian Singh and Sawinder Kaur, was a young farmer resident of Bopa Rai Kalan village under Lopoke police station in Ajnala subdivision of Amritsar district. According to Jaswinder Singh, the victim's brother and the main informant in this case, Gurmeet had given up school after completing his matriculation and had begun to work on the family farm. He was unmarried.
The Gharinda police had illegally arrested Gurmeet a number of times for interrogation on the basis of the suspicion that he maintained militant connections. But he had never been formally arrested or charged.
On 21 November 1990, Gurmeet was going on his motorcycle from Bhakna to Jathol village when a group of officers from Gharinda police station in a jeep started chasing him. Gurmeet became nervous and went out of the main road to drive on a mud track. The police officials followed him in their jeep and started firing. A bullet pierced Gurmeet's leg. He dropped the motorcycle and tried to run away, but the police shot him dead.
The police officers carried away his dead body and cremated it at Durgiana Mandir cremation ground the following day. The newspapers reported that an unidentified militant had been killed in an encounter.
In the night of 12 June 1991, a group of armed men in civil clothes, raided the house of Gurmeet's father Gian Singh and took him into custody. The next morning, Gian Singh's dead body was recovered from the agricultural fields in the outskirts of the village. A newspaper report that relied on the police sources attributed the killing to members of the armed underground.

31. Under Sl. No. 134/174, the list shows a 22 April 1991 cremation carried out by SHO Surinder Singh of Chhearta police station under FIR No. 61/91. The postmortem report is listed as "not available". The cause of death is mentioned as "police encounter".
The Committee's Incident-Report Form No. CCDP/00339 reveals the following information about this cremation.
Twenty-five year old Balkar Singh alias Bhola, son of Bachan Singh and Surjit Kaur, was a farmer resident of Kaler village under Raja Sansi police station in Ajnala subdivision of Amritsar district. Balkar was married to Jasbir Kaur and was the father of a minor son.
The local police suspected Balkar of sympathizing with the militant cause and of sheltering its adherents. They had illegally detained and severely tortured him a number of times. Fearing further atrocities, Balkar had begun to live away from his house. The decision exposed his family members to regular police atrocities. His parents and brothers were often picked up and tortured at the B. R. Model School Interrogation Center in Amritsar. The police also confiscated all valuable belongings of the house.
On 21 April 1991, Balkar was arrested by a police force led by DSP Mahinder Singh and SHO Gurmeet Singh of Chheharta police station. He was killed the same night in an encounter staged near village Thande. His dead body was cremated at Durgiana Mandir cremation ground without the family's knowledge. But the SHO Mahinder Singh later sent his ashes to the family members and also showed them the clothes that Balkar had been wearing at the time of his capture.
According to Baldev Singh, the victim's brother and the main informant in this case, his cousin Surjit Singh, son of Mahinder Singh of Sanghna village, was also kidnapped from his house by SHO Mahinder Singh Karikki of Chheharta police station and killed in a separate incident of faked encounter.

32. Under Sl. No. 429/670, the list shows a 30 April 1992 cremation carried out by Ashok Kumar of Jhabbal police station under FIR No. 51/92. The postmortem report is marked as GSD-23/92. The cause of death is mentioned to be "firearm injuries".
The Committee's Incident-Report Form No. CCDP/00375 reveals the following information about this cremation.
Thirty-five year old Hansa Singh alias Chatara, son of Teja Singh and Bhan Kaur, was a poor Mazhabi Sikh living at village Khiala Khurd, under police station Lopoke, in Ajnala subdivision of Amritsar district. Hansa, originally from Blara village, had been sentenced to life imprisonment in a case of murder that happened out of a personal quarrel he had with some persons in Blara village. Hansa was granted parole after spending four years in jail. Hansa jumped his parole, shifted to Khiala Khurd along with his family to dodge his arrest and began to earn his livelihood as a farm worker.
In the last week of April 1992, Hansa went to his sister Kanto's house in Gandiwind village under Jhabbal police station in Amritsar district to help her husband Jagira Singh harvest his wheat crop. On 29 April morning, a large police force from Jhabbal police station raided his sister's house to arrest Hansa. When he tried to run away, the police force followed him into the fields and shot him dead.
The police carried out the cremation in the presence of Jagira Singh and other members of his family.

33 - 38. Under Sl. Nos. 54/48, 55/49, 56/50, 57/51, 58/52 and 59/53, the list identifies six cremations carried out by Lopoke police station on 19 April 1988. The list does not show the FIR and the postmortem numbers and mentions the cause of death to be "police encounter".
The Committee's Incident-Report Form No. CCDP/00402 reveals the following information about these cremations.
Twenty-three year old Darbara Singh, son of Chainchal Singh and Rachhpal Kaur, was a resident of Ramdas Arian village, post office Ramdas, in Ajnala subdivision of Amritsar district. Darbara was an active member of the Sikh Students Federation in his school days and, after completing his matriculation, began to take interest in the militant movement. Darbara was unmarried and his brother Baldev Singh is the main informant in this case.
On 18 April 1988, Darbara Singh and five of his close associates were killed in what seemed like a genuine armed encounter against a joint group of Punjab police officers and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) that happened at Wadde Boparai. On 19 April 1988, all the Punjabi newspapers prominently reported the incident identifying four of the six militants killed in the encounter by their names. Apart from Darbara Singh, the newspaper reports identified them as: [1] Nishan Singh Washoa, [2] Paramjit Singh Rajasthani and [3] Jagtar Singh Chhina. Darbara Singh's elder brother Amar Singh was taken to the cremation ground to identify his dead body.
It is indeed extraordinary that the CBI has placed all these cremations in its unidentified list.
Two days after the encounter, a large group of officers from Ramdas police station raided Darbara's house and illegally arrested his father Chainchal Singh, and his brothers Baldev Singh and Mahinder Singh. Chainchal was detained and interrogated under terrible torture at Ramdas police station. His legs were fractured during the torture and Chainchal Singh still walks with a limp. Baldev Singh and Mahinder Singh were taken to Dera Baba Nanak police station and interrogated under torture. The police also destroyed their standing crops and carried away the stock of wheat worth Rs. 5000.

39. Under Sl. No. 230/345, the list shows a 11 October 1992 cremation carried out by the SHO of Amritsar's Sadar police station under FIR No. 351/92. The postmortem report is marked as SPG/FM-401/92 and the cause of death is mentioned to be "police encounter".
The Committee's Incident-Report Form No. CCDP/00422 reveals the following information about the cremation.
Thirty-four year old Gurbhej Singh alias Bagga, son of Mukhtar Singh and Jeet Kaur, was a baptized Sikh farmer from Gagrewal village under Khadur Sahib police station in Tarn Taran subdivision of Amritsar district. Married to Satwinder Kaur, Gurbhej was the father of three minor sons. His father-in-law Santokh Singh, a retired officer of the Indian railways, used to live just outside Amritsar city on the road to Tarn Taran. According to Satwinder Kaur, the main informant in this case, her husband was not involved in any political or militant activity. The police routinely detained him illegally for interrogation, but they never formally arrested him.
In the morning of 09 October 1992, around 10 a.m., Gurbhej accompanied his mother Jeet Kaur to a relative's house at village Dhahra under Jandiala Guru police station to attend a religious function. Returning to his house in the afternoon, Gurbhej, along with his eldest son Gursher, who was then 9-years old, went to call on his father-in-law at his house in Maqboolpura locality in the outskirts of Amritsar city. His father-in-law Santokh Singh had not been feeling very well and Gurbhej wanted to go with him to a doctor the next day.
On 10 October 1992, around 2:30 p.m., Gurbhej Singh, his father-in-law Santokh Singh and Gurbhej's son Gursher, were going to an Ayurvedic clinic in Maqboolpura when three armed men in civil clothes got out of a Maruti van and tried to force Gurbhej into their van. They ordered Gurbhej to raise his hands and tried to tie his hands to his back. As the abductors were in civil clothes and had not identified themselves, Gurbhej got confused and asked them who they were and why they were trying to kidnap him. Santokh Singh too asked them these questions. As Gurbhej resisted the attempt to kidnap him, one of the persons in civil clothes who carried a gun shot Gurbhej Singh who collapsed dead on the spot. All three persons immediately got into the van and went away.
Santokh Singh and Gursher Singh went back to the house to inform other family members about what had happened. When they returned to the spot some fifteen minutes later, they discovered that Gurbhej's dead body had been taken away by some officers from Amritsar's Sadar police station.
On 11 October 1992, the Sadar police station carried out the cremation in the presence of Gurbhej's mother and his widow. But no member of the family was allowed to go close to the dead body.
According to Satwinder Kaur, the police officials were certainly aware of his identity because they had come to her house to take her and her mother-in-law to attend the cremation. She pointed out that some time after the incident, a group of officers from Beas police station came to Gagrewal village and arrested Gurbhej's uncle Gurpal Singh and killed him in a faked encounter.

40 - 41. Under Sl. Nos. 559/922 and 560/923, the list shows two cremations carried out by Sita Ram of Patti police station on 01 December 1992 under FIR No. 72/92. The postmortem numbers are marked as 1.12.92 and the cause of death is given to be "police encounter".
The Committee's Incident-Report Form Nos. CCDP/00537 and 00538 reveal the following information about these cremations.
Twenty-five year old Amarjit Singh alias Kala, son of Harbans Singh and Prakash Kaur, was an employee of the Punjab State Electricity Board and resident of Kairon village, Patti Bhanu Ki, under Patti police station in Amritsar district. A baptized Sikh and the only son of his parents, Amarjit was suspected of sympathizing with the militant movement and the Patti police had been intermittently detaining him for interrogation under torture since 1984. However, he had never been formally arrested. According to Prakash Kaur, the main informant in this case, her husband Harbans Singh became very depressed after the June 1984 assault on the Golden Temple carried out by the Indian army. He was unable to cope with the harassment when the police started raiding his house and illegally arresting and torturing his son. Harbans Singh, who was also an employee of the Punjab State Electricity Board, died from a heart attack towards the end of 1984.
Thirty-five year old Baldev Singh alias Billo, son of Jagir Singh and Charan Kaur, was Amarjit's cousin and lived in the same village of Kairon in Patti Bhan Ki. After completing his High Secondary School, Baldev had begun to work on his family farm. Married to Narinder Kaur, Baldev was the father of a daughter Sukhpreet Kaur. According to Baldev's widow Narinder Kaur, he was not involved in the militant activities although the police regularly harassed him. His brother Gurbakhsh Singh had been abducted and disappeared by the police and his younger brother Sukhwinder Singh had been murdered by a police informer in the village.
On 24 November 1992, Amarjit, Baldev and his wife Narinder Kaur went to Patria Wala village in Fazilka subdivision of Ferozepur district where Narinder Kaur's parents lived. All of them stayed at the house of Kuldeep Kaur, Narinder Kaur's sister, and her husband Jeet Singh.
Early next morning, around 5 a.m., a large group of officers from Patti police station raided Kuldeep Kaur's house and arrested both Amarjit and Baldev. The group of officers was led by Naurang Singh, in-charge of Kairon police post, and had come along with Kulwant Singh, son of Mewa Singh of Kairon village who knew about their plan to visit Fazilka. Naurang Singh had arrested Kulwant Singh and had forced him to come along with his group of officers to Patria Wala village to arrest the two. Kuldeep Kaur's family members and several other residents of the village witnessed the arrest.
Officer Naurang Singh first wanted to take Narinder Kaur also along, but let her off after a policeman in his group pointed out that she had small children to look after. Kuldeep Kaur and her husband tried to find out why they had arrested Amarjit and Baldev, but the officers did not respond to their questions. They went away with Amarjit and Baldev Singh in their custody. Narinder Kaur and her brother-in-law Jeet Singh went back to Kairon in a taxi and informed all of the family members about the arrests.
The same day in the afternoon, around 2 p.m., a large group of village elders led by the head of the village council met Naurang Singh, In-charge of Kairon police post, who promised to release both Amarjit and Baldev after their interrogation. The family members and their sympathizers continued to meet Naurang Singh and DSP Kashmir Singh to beseech them to release both of them. Six days after the arrest, Naurang Singh demanded Rs. 200,000/- for their release. It was a big amount of money and both the families were able to raise only Rs. 135,000 within the next four days. In the evening of 30 November 1992, both families met Naurang Singh at the police post and paid him Rs. 135,000. The officer promised to release Amarjit and Baldev the following morning and asked them to come to the police post at 9 in the morning. He also allowed a private doctor, paid by the family members, to give a medical check up to Baldev and Amarjit. They were physically debilitated from severe torture under custody.
Early in the morning of 1 December 1992, even as the family members were getting ready to go to the police post, a member of the village council found out that Patti police officials were making preparations to burn the dead bodies of Amarjit and Baldev at Patti cremation ground. The village elders and the family members were crestfallen and rushed to the Civil Hospital at Patti where the bodies had been brought for their postmortem. Naurang Singh and his group of officers had cordoned off the hospital and began to abuse the family members when they appeared there. He ordered the policemen on duty to beat up all the women until they were no longer able to walk. All of them got scared and went away. They did not even go to the cremation ground that day.
On 2 December 1992, the family members went to Patti cremation ground to discover that the police had formed the pyres with insufficient wood and the bodies of both Baldev and Amarjit were not completely burned. They ordered additional wood and burned the scalded remains of their bodies to completion.
On 2 December 1992, two newspapers, Ajit and Punjab Kesari, published a report claiming that the police had killed two militants in an encounter in Patti. The report identified Amarjit Singh as a member of the Khalistan Commando Force and declared Baldev Singh to be unidentified.
According to Prakash Kaur and Narinder Kaur, they also submitted an application to the CBI officers who had set up a temporary office in Amritsar to investigate the matter of illegal cremations after the Supreme Court required them to do so in November 1995.
It is extraordinary that the CBI placed these cremations in its unidentified list.

42. Under Sl. No. 553/900, the list shows a 27 November 1992 cremation carried out by SHO J. Sidhoo of Jhabbal police station under FIR No. 113/92. The postmortem report is marked as OPG-43/92 and the cause of death is mentioned as "firearm injuries".
The Committee's Incident-Report Form No. CCDP/00547 reveals the following information about the cremation.
Twenty-year old Baljit Singh alias Toti, son of Ram Singh and Tasvir Kaur, was a college graduate resident of village Bhujrawala, under Jhabbal police station, in Tarn Taran subdivision of Amritsar district. He was unmarried and helped his father Ram Singh, the main informant in this case, with the agricultural work.
In 1990, Tarn Taran police had illegally arrested Baljit and interrogated him under torture. They released him following intervention by members of his village council who testified to his lack of involvement with the militant movement.
In the evening of 27 November 1992, around 4.30 p.m., Baljit was abducted from the bus stand at Jhabbal by a group of officers led by SHO Jagdeep Singh Sidhoo of Jhabbal police station, and also including Sub-Inspector Bikramjit Singh, Constable Talwinder Singh and others. Several residents of the village who knew Baljit very well witnessed his abduction.
Immediately, Baljit's father Ram Singh, accompanied by several village elders, rushed to Jhabbal police station where DSP Ashok Kumar promised to release Baljit after his interrogation the following morning. Baljit was killed in an encounter faked just outside the village some hours later.
On 28 November 1992, two newspapers Jagbani and Ajit reported Baljit's killing in the alleged encounter. The cremation was carried out without the family's knowledge.
Ram Singh submitted representation about the abduction and the arbitrary execution of his son to the Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court, the Chief Minister and the DGP of Punjab. He also submitted a petition to the CBI officers who started to investigate the matter of illegal cremations in Punjab following the Supreme Court's order to do so in November 1995.

43 - 44. Under Sl. Nos. 229/371 and 230/372, the list shows two cremations carried out by Dalbir Singh of Jhabbal police station on 04 April 1991 under the FIR No. 47/91 and 48/91. The postmortem reports are marked MSJ 23/91 and 4.4.91. The cause of death is given as "police encounter".
The Committee's Incident-Report Form No. CCDP/00668 reveals the following information about one of these cremations.
Twenty-five year old Jagtar Singh alias Tota, son of Maghar Singh and Balbir Kaur, was a soldier of the Indian army and resident of village Kubarku, post office Shahbazpur, under Sarhali police station, in Tarn Taran subdivision of Amritsar district. According to Balbir Kaur, the main informant in this case, Jagtar's older brother is also a soldier of the Indian army. Jagtar was married to Gurmeet Kaur and had a young daughter.
In the beginning of 1990, Jagtar came to his house on a vacation but did not report back to his regiment when his leave expired. His family members tried unsuccessfully to persuade him to return to his service. Apparently, Jagtar had been having some problems with his superiors which he, however, did not discuss with his family.
On 4 April 1991, Jagtar went to village Nikki Manochahal to buy some opium to which his father was addicted. In Nikki Manochahal, Jagtar went to the house of a person who sold the contraband. While he was paying the person, a group of officers from Jhabbal police station, led by Sub-Inspector Dalbir Singh, raided the house. Jagtar, fearing his arrest, tried to run away. The police officers chased him into the fields and shot him dead. Many residents of the village who knew Jagtar and his family witnessed his execution and went to inform his family immediately.
Jagtar's parents approached Surinder Singh Kairon, an influential Congress Party leader and a former Minister, to request him to persuade the police officials to return the body to the family. Surinder Singh called the SHO of Jhabbal police station and then asked Jagtar's father Maghar Singh to go to the police station to claim the dead body. However, when Maghar Singh, accompanied by his family members and other village elders, reached the police station he was told that the body had already been cremated.
Two months after the incident, a group of armed policemen in plainclothes came to Maghar Singh's house and shot down his daughter Beant Kaur. Maghar Singh himself died approximately one year after the killing of his son.