95. Under Sl. No. 29/67, the list shows a 29 December 1988 cremation carried out by SHO Mohinder Singh of Valtoha police under FIR No. 163/88. There is no postmortem report number. The cause of death given is "encounter".
The Committee's Incident-Report Form No. CCDP/01246 reveals the following information about the cremation. Gurpartap Singh, the nephew of Bagicha Singh, is the main informant in this case.
Twenty-two year old Bagicha Singh, son of Surta Singh and Sawinder Kaur, was a resident of village Asal Utar, Kasson Ka Qila, under Valtoha police station, in Patti subdivision of Amritsar district. He was unmarried.
Bagicha Singh's father was a poor Jat farmer, a father of five sons, with just five acres of land. In 1987, while Bagicha Singh was a student, he became interested in the Sikh militant movement. When the police started raiding his house to arrest him, he deserted his house to join the militant underground.
On 27 December 1988, Bagicha Singh, along with an associate, had taken shelter at the farm house of Mahal Singh at village Cheema. Around 6 p.m. that day, the Valtoha police surrounded Mahal Singh's farmhouse and arrested both of them. Since the police did not take any action against Mahal Singh, the family suspects that he may have informed the police about his visitors. The police interrogated Bagicha Singh and his companion for some hours and then killed them in a faked encounter early in the morning. Newspapers published on the 29th and 30th of December reported that two unidentified militants had been killed in the encounter. The police carried out their cremations without informing the family. It is not clear what happened to the second dead body.
According to Gurpratap Singh, the police continued to harass the family for some time, holding Bagicha Singh's father and brothers in illegal custody and releasing them only after receiving bribes.

96. Under Sl. No. 240/188, the list shows one 18 March 1991 cremation carried out by the Beas police. There is no FIR No. or postmortem report number. The cause of death is given as "police encounter".
The Committee's Incident-Report Form No. CCDP/01254 reveals the following information in this case. The main informant is the victim Satnam Singh's widow Randhir Kaur.
Satnam Singh, son of Jagtar Singh and Bachan Kaur, was a thirty-year old farmer from village Sadhpur, under Mehta police station in Amritsar district. However, he used to live at his mother's ancestral village Fattu Bheela, post office Babowal, under Kathu Nangal police station, because his grandparents did not have any male offspring. Satnam, a baptized Sikh, was married to Randhir Kaur and was the father of two daughters and two sons. The eldest daughter Kulwant Kaur is now 24. The youngest, Rajminder Kaur, is 18.
In 1989, some militants began to visit Satnam's farmhouse for shelter and food. Later, the police arrested some of them who, under torture, revealed Satnam's name. Satnam dodged the police when they raided his house. Several residents of his village had been arrested and tortured for similar reasons, and Satnam did not want to suffer the same fate. Eventually, he left his home and went away to Delhi.
In early March 1991, the Majitha police arrested Satnam Singh from the Bangla Sahib Gurdwara at Delhi and brought him back to Punjab. He was interrogated at the Mall Mandi Interrogation Center and at Beas police station. The family members sent telegrams to higher authorities in the State informing them about Satnam's illegal arrest and interrogation. He was later produced before a court for cases registered against him under TADA.
On 19 March 1991, several newspapers in Punjab published a statement issued by SSP Paramjit Singh Gill of Majitha police district claiming that a group of militants attacked the police convoy that was taking Satnam Singh and another militant to Sathiala village to recover their weapons, provoking an encounter in which Satnam Singh was killed. The police disposed of the dead body without informing the family.

97 - 98. Under Sl. Nos. 560/314 and 561/315, the list shows two 5 January 1993 cremations carried out by Kathunangal police under FIR No. 2/93. There are no postmortem report numbers. The cause of death is given as "police encounter".
The Committee's Incident-Report Form No. CCDP/01255 reveals the following facts in this case. The main informant in this case is Avtar Singh's cousin Paramjit Kaur.
Twenty-year old Avtar Singh, son of Joginder Singh and Preetam Kaur, from village Sehzada, under Kathu Nangal police station, in Amritsar district, was a Mazhabi Sikh laborer who worked at Dana Mandi, a grain market, Bhagatan Wali, in Amritsar. He was unmarried. Avtar's father had died when he was very young. Although he managed to finish his school education, Avatar could not find any job and had to become, along with his brother, a laborer for his livelihood. He had no political associations.
In October 1992, the Kathu Nangal police raided his village home to arrest Avtar Singh. Avtar, who was in Amritsar at that time, feared the police and did not return home after the raid. In the night of 1 January 1993, a joint force of the Kathu Nangal police and the CRPF arrested Avtar from the Dana Mandi at Amritsar. A large number of his fellow workers and others in the area, including his uncle Surjit Singh, witnessed his arrest. When the family members went to Kathu Nangal police station to inquire about Avtar, the police told them he was under interrogation at the Mall Mandi Interrogation Center.
The newspapers of 6 January 1993 published a report about an encounter near village Sehzada in which the police claimed to have killed two militants, Avtar Singh Tari and Sarabjit Singh. The police cremated the bodies without informing the family. Although the newspaper reports carried the names of the killed militants, showing that their identities were clearly established, the Kathunagal police cremated the bodies on 5 January 1993 at the Durgiana Mandir cremation ground as unidentified and unclaimed.
Surjit Singh, Avtar's uncle, collected his ashes from the Durgiana Mandir cremation ground. Because he also worked at the Dana Mandi in Amritsar, he had witnessed Avtar's arrest.

99. Under Sl. No. 534/854, the list shows one 25 September 1992 cremation carried out by SHO Harvinder Singh of Bikhiwind police station under FIR No. 71/92. The postmortem report number is KS-69/92. The cause of death is "firearm injuries".
The Committee's Incident-Report Form No. CCDP/01269 reveals the following information about the case. The main informant is the victim's mother Harbans Kaur.
Sarwan Singh, son of Gurmej Singh and Harbans Kaur, was a twenty-five year old Mazhabi Sikh farm worker from village Sargara, post office Preet Nagar, under Lopoke police station, in Ajnala subdivision of Amritsar district. He was married to Amarjit Kaur, who has since remarried, and was the father of a daughter Sukhwant Kaur.
During the February 1992 elections to the Punjab Legislative Assembly, Sarwan was recruited as a body guard for a candidate Joginder Singh of Bhullar village who belonged to the Bahujan Samaj Party and was also the head of his village council. After the elections, the police registered a complaint against Sarwan Singh alleging that he absconded along with the rifle that had been issued to him as Joginder Singh's bodyguard. The police arrested his family members, including his mother and wife, and interrogated them for information about his whereabouts.
On 24 September 1992, the police arrested Sarwan Singh near the Chheharta Sugar Mill and killed him the same night in a faked encounter near village Bhikhiwind along with two other unidentified persons. Two Punjabi newspapers, Ajit and Jagbani, identified Sarwan Singh by his name and the village of his residence in a report published on 26 September. The other two were described as unidentified militants. The police carried out the cremations without informing the family members.
The CBI's list of identified cremations, under Sl. No. 230/855, mentions the cremation of Surjeet Singh, son of Sajan Singh of Khalra village, carried out by the Bhikhiwind police on 25 September 1992 under the same FIR No. 71/92.

100. Under Sl. No. 428/265, the list shows one 24 June 1993 cremation carried out by the Mehta police under FIR No. 69/92. The postmortem report number is marked as GM/341/92. The cause of death is given as "police encounter".
The Committee's Incident-Report Form Nos. CCDP/01288 and 01289 reveal the following facts in this case. The main informant is the victim's brother Kulwinder Singh.
Thirty-six year old Harjinder Singh, son of Moola Singh and Gurmej Kaur, was a prominent leader of the Sikh Students Federation and resident of village Khabbe Rajputan, under Mehta police station, in Baba Bakala subdivision of Amritsar district. He was married to Kulwinder Kaur and had a six month old daughter Mansimranjit Kaur.
In 1982, Harjinder, an Amritdhari Sikh student of the Khalsa College at Amritsar, became an active member of the Sikh Students Federation and began to associate with Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, Amrik Singh, then President of the Federation, and Harminder Singh Sandhu, its General Secretary. Harjinder was under arrest when the June 1984 military operation occurred and he completed his M. A. degree by appearing for examination as a prisoner.
The political developments in the state after June 1984 increased his sympathies with the Sikh militant resistance and, in 1990, he went underground after forming an armed organization called "Khalistan National Army". For the next two years, his family members suffered enormously under police harassment, illegal detention for prolonged periods and torture under interrogation. His wife's family, living in Gobindgarh Mohalla of Jalandhar city, were also not spared. Kulwinder Kaur, a teacher in a primary school, was forced to quit her job. But Harjinder and his wife Kulwinder Kaur managed to live anonymously in a rented house in Jalandhar since 1990.
In the last week of March 1992, SHO Surjit Singh of Mehta police station raided Harjinder's village house and took his brother Kulwinder, and his maternal uncles Jagga Singh and Gurmukh Singh into illegal custody. Under torture, the SHO forced them to reveal the residential address of Kulwinder Kaur's parents' house in Jalandhar and arrested her father Jagir Singh and their daughters. The police tortured them and forced them to reveal the residential address of Harjinder Singh. In a midnight swoop, led by SSP Paramjit Singh Gill and SHO Surjit Singh of Mehta police station, the police arrested Harjinder Singh and his wife on 5 April 1992. Their six month old daughter was handed over to Kulwinder Kaur's sister.
Harjinder's father Moola Singh and a number of other relatives were already in illegal police custody. Some of them were detained at Amritsar's Mall Mandi Interrogation Center and other at the Beas Police Station.
Harjinder and his wife were killed in an encounter staged by the Mehta police on 23 June 1992. However, the CBI's list of unidentified cremations, under Sl. No. 428/265, shows only a single cremation on 24 June 1992, carried out by the Mehta police under the FIR No. 69/92.
The police released Harjinder's father, his father-in-law and other relatives twenty days after Harjinder's arrest. They released his brother Kulwinder three days after the alleged encounter. His parents had to pay a huge amount of money to SHO Surjit Singh to save Kulwinder Singh's life.

101 - 103. Under Sl. Nos. 161/123, 162/124, and 163/125, the list shows three 27 July 1990 cremations carried out by SHO Malhar Singh of Mehta police station under FIR No. 87/90. There are no postmortem report numbers. The cause of death is given as "police encounter".
The Committee's Incident-Report Form NO. CCDP/01294 gives the following information in these cases. The main informant in the case is Harjit Singh's father Harbhajan Singh.
Twenty-four year old Harjit Singh, son of Harbhajan Singh, resident of Bhoa village, post office Mattewal, in Baba Bakala subdivision of Amritsar district, was the owner of a private taxi. He had no political background and had never been arrested or interrogated. Harjit was unmarried.
On 26 July 1990, two armed militants kidnapped Harjit from his residence and forced him to drive them in his car. The same group of militants later kidnapped Kashmir Singh from his residence in East Mohan Nagar of Amritsar city and then compelled Harjit to drive towards Jhabbal. A CRPF patrolling vehicle intercepted the car at the Khazana Gate in Amritsar. Both Harjit and Kashmir Singh started shouting for help even as the militants tried to escape.
The CRPF patrol started firing with a Light Machine Gun mounted on their jeep and killed both the militants and also Kashmir Singh and Harjit Singh. The incident was witnessed by a large number of local residents.
DGP K. P. S. Gill issued a press statement incorrectly identifying the kidnapped person as Gurbachan Singh and claiming that all others were militants who the police had killed after a fierce encounter. The statement was published in all the newspapers in Punjab.
The police carried out Harjit's cremation without informing the family. The lists of identified and partially identified cremations do not show the cremation of Kashmir Singh, identified in the newspaper report as Gurbachan Singh. Hence, it is impossible to say whether or not the three cremations carried out by the Mehta police on 27 July 1990 are connected with this case.

104 - 109. Under Sl. Nos. 186/145, 187/146, 188/147, 189/148, 190/149, and 191/150, the list shows six 18 November 1990 cremations carried out by SHO Wasan Singh of Ram Das police station under FIR No. 92/90. There are no postmortem report numbers. The cause of death is given as "police encounter".
The Committee's Incident-Report Form No. CCDP/01298 reveals the following information in these cases. The main informant is Sukhdev Singh's father Joginder Singh.
Twenty-six year old Sukhdev Singh alias Sukha, son of Joginder Singh and Dalbir Kaur, from village Sawazpur [Harsha Chheena], under Raja Sansi police station, in Ajnala subdivision of Amritsar district, was a cousin of known militant Satnam Singh Satta. Sukhdev was unmarried.
Sukhdev as well as several other members of his family, used to face brutal police atrocities because of their relationship to Satnam Singh. Satnam was finally killed on 24 November 1993. Sukhdev had no connection to the militant movement. However, when a group of CRPF officers camped at the Kukaran Wali Post illegally detained and tortured his mother Dalbir Kaur and his aunt Harbans Kaur, Sukhdev decided to take revenge and joined the militant underground.
On 17 November 1990, Sukhdev Singh and five of his associates were surrounded by a strong police force at village Gore Nangal when they were bathing under a tube-well. The police killed all of them in the encounter that followed. According to Joginder Singh, the police carried out the cremations without informing the families although the identities of the slain militants were established. Joginder Singh identified the remaining five persons killed in the encounter as: Kuldeep Singh, resident of Bhakna; Sewa Singh, resident of Cheema Kalan; Surinder Singh Toti, son of Darshan Singh, resident of Baath; Ajit Singh, resident of Charpur under Ramdas police station; and Swaran Singh Mandrawala under Ramdas police station.

110 - 121. Under Sl. Nos. 6/6, 7/7, 8/8, 9/9, 10/10, 11/11, 12/12, 13/13, 14/14, 15/15, 16/16, and 17/17, the list shows twelve 5 June 1984 cremations carried out by Amritsar's Sadar police station. There are no FIR numbers. The postmortem report numbers are listed as not applicable. The cause of death is given as "bullet injuries".
The Committee's Incident-Report Form No. CCDP/01302 reveals the following information in these cases. The main informant is Ranjit Singh's father Dharam Singh.
Twenty-two year old Ranjit Singh, son of Dharam Singh and Harbans Kaur, was a resident of Sawazpur (Harsha Cheena), under Raja Sansi police station, in Amritsar district. He was unmarried and worked as a farmer. Ranjit Singh was an Amritdhari Sikh. He had courted arrest along with several 'jathas' (groups) during the Dharam Yudh Morcha, or political agitation led by the Akali Dal in 1982. After the army attack on the Golden Temple of Amritsar in June 1984, Ranjit Singh, like most other Sikhs, was seething with anger. He collected his friends and formed a jatha.
On 5 June 1984, all of them marched towards the Golden Temple at Amritsar. The group consisted of thousands of people. The Indian Army, in uniform, opened fire on the jatha at village Hayer-Kambo on Amritsar-Ajnala road. According to estimates, the army killed 50-60 jatha members and injured several of them. Ranjit Singh was one of those killed. Four other people of the same village, Pooran Singh, Karnail Singh, Jagir Singh and an unidentified woman, were also killed in this incident. After the formation of the government of Chief Minister Surjit S. Barnala, Ranjit Singh's family was paid Rs. one lakh as compensation. The body of Ranjit Singh was not handed over to his family. It must have been cremated by the Army.
This incident was witnessed by thousands of people, including those from Ranjit Singh's own village. There was no FIR filed, it was not reported in any newspaper and no police officers approached them. Five of Ranjit's relatives were killed by the police in later incidents.

122. Under Sl. No. 192/260, the list shows one 29 January 1992 cremation carried out by SHO Gurmeet Singh of Civil Lines police station. There is no FIR No. The postmortem report is marked as SPG-FM/248/92. The cause of death is given as "police encounter".
The Committee's Incident-Report Form No. CCDP/01312 reveals the following information in the case. The main informant is the victim's mother Darshan Kaur.
Twenty-four year old Gurvel Singh, son of late Jagir Singh and Darshan Kaur, was an Amrithdari Sikh resident of village Boharwala, post office Mohan Bhandarian, under Ramdas police station, in Ajnala subdivision of Amritsar district. Gurvel lived with his widowed mother and siblings; his father had died when Gurvel was still very young.
When he was studying in the eighth class, Gurvel Singh's right hand was cut off after it got entangled with a fodder-shredding machine. He then abandoned his studies and started earning his livelihood by working as a Paathi, reciting Gurbani from the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, usually for a fee. He took a keen interest in religious affairs and was inclined towards the militant and political movement in Punjab at the time.
In 1989-90, the police raided Gurvel Singh's house in an attempt to arrest him. As a result, Gurvel Singh started staying away from home, visiting secretly when he could. Whenever the police received information about his visits, they would harass his family members. The police would pick up family members, particularly his brother, Ravel Singh. This continued till Gurvel Singh's arrest in 1992.
On 25 January 1992, the Police of B Division of the city of Amritsar arrested Gurvel Singh, as he came out of the Gurdwara Shaheedan. A colleague of Gurvel Singh's informed his family of the incident on the same day. The following morning on 26 January, Gurvel Singh's family and the Panchayat went to the Police Station B Division in Amritsar. Some of these people, specifically a policeman, an uncle, a villager, and a cousin-brother of Gurvel, managed to meet Gurvel Singh in the police station.
Gurvel Singh had been tortured. The family and other villagers met the SHO, Charan Dass, who told them that several people had been taken into custody, on the basis of suspicion, around Republic Day on 26 January, but that they would release Gurvel Singh soon.
The family was told that Gurvel Singh was being shifted to BR Model School Interrogation Centre, Amritsar. The police took him away in the presence of family members, including his mother Darshan Kaur, who saw her son sitting in the police vehicle.
On 30 January 1992, the Punjabi daily Ajit reported that a "B" category militant named Gurvel Singh alias Galla, belonging to Bhindranwala Tigers Force (Sangha), was killed in Ranjit Avenue area in an encounter with the police, but that his accomplice escaped. The police, according to this report, accused Gurvel Singh of 20 murders and several cases of bombing and kidnapping. Mr. A. Shukla, SP (Detective), has been quoted as saying that a naka party was fired upon by two militants on a motor cycle. Gurvel Singh was killed in the return fire. A 30-bore pistol was recovered from the site.
After reading this news, the family demanded proof, such as clothes, from the police station B Division, that this was indeed Gurvel Singh. The police neither gave the family the dead body, nor informed the family of the cremation. The police told them that they could collect Gurvel Singh's ashes from the cremation ground at Durgiana Mandir, Amritsar, which the family then did.

123 - 125. Under Sl. Nos. 246/373, 247/374, and 248/375, the list shows three 4 April 1993 cremations. There is no description of the police station or officer who carried out the cremation. There is no FIR No. or postmortem report number. The cause of death is given as "police encounter".

The Committee's Incident-Report Form No. CCDP/01319 reveals the following information in these cases. The main informant in the case is the victim's father Baldev Singh.
Twenty-seven year old Amarjit Singh alias Bitta, son of Baldev Singh and Kirpal Kaur, was a milk vendor resident of Verka, Patti Hardas, under Amritsar's Sadar police station, in Amritsar district. Baldev Singh, an ex-serviceman, had joined Punjab Roadways as a driver after his retirement from the army. He had bought buffaloes for his son and Amarjit Singh would also buy milk from other people to sell.
During the period of militancy in Punjab, the police arrested and brutally tortured Amarjit Singh several times on the suspicion that he had links with militants. This continued until Amarjit decided to leave home. After Amarjit Singh absconded, the police illegally detailed his father and other relatives. They would hold Baldev Singh for months, often torturing and pressuring him to disclose his son's whereabouts. The family said they were not in touch with Amarjit.
In March 1993, Baldev Singh was arrested and detained at BR Model School Interrogation Center in Amritsar, while Kirpal Kaur was arrested and detained at the Police Post Verka. In March 1993, an accomplice of Amarjit Singh, who had earlier been involved with militant activities, surrendered to the police. This accomplice gave information on the basis of which ASI Dilbagh Singh, incharge of Verka Police Post, arrested Amarjit Singh in Hoshiarpur on 25 or 26 March 1993 and brought him to BR Model School Interrogation Center in Amritsar. Baldev Singh was already in police custody there and Amarjit Singh was detained with his father there till 3 p.m. on 2 April 1993.
In the afternoon of 2 April 1993, Amarjit Singh, and two other unidentified young men, were taken from BR Model School, by the police and killed in a fake "encounter" near the village of Verka, on the footpath leading to the village of Hothian. Several days later, Amritsar's Sadar police registered a case under the Arms Act against Baldev Singh and sent him to jail.
On 3 April 1993 newspapers in Punjab, including the daily Jagbani, reported the killing of three militants - one of whom was identified as Amarjit Singh Bitta, resident of village Verka. The accomplices were unidentified at the time of the report. Two other militants apparently escaped from the encounter. According to the report, Amarjit Singh was an area commander of Khalistan Liberation Organisation and was the main accused in a bank robbery at the Punjab and Sindh Bank on 25 February. He was also apparently wanted in 50 cases of murder and bomb blasts in the districts of Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Tarn Taran and Majitha.
The newspaper also reported SP (Detective) Amritsar, Shri Arpit Shukla as saying that the police had received secret information about militants of the Khalistan Liberation Organisation being active in the area in and near Verka. Chaman Lal, incharge CIA Staff, and Dilbagh Singh, SHO Verka police station, set up a checkpost on the unpaved road between the villages of Verka and Hothian. At 4 a.m. the checkpost party spotted five suspicious people in a motor vehicle. On being signaled to stop, the people took positions and opened fire. The police party returned fire and this exchange continued for an hour. After the militants stopped firing, the police found three bullet-ridden bodies. They also found an AK-56 assault rifle, a rocket launcher, 2 rockets, 150 cartridges; a 303 bore rifle and letter pads of the K.L.O.
The police did not give Amarjit Singh's body to the family, nor did they ask the family to attend the cremation.
According to family members, the two unidentified young men belonged to Gurdaspur district but were living in Verka at that time. They were labourers in factories. Their names were not known.
Harjinder Kaur, mother of Amarjit Singh, died in 1997. She had been ill and bed-ridden since the time of her son's death.

126. Under Sl. No. 425/264, the list shows one 21 June 1992 cremation carried out by Kathunangal police. There is no FIR number. The postmortem report number is given as RKG/FM/70/92. The cause of death is listed as "police encounter".
The Committee's Incident-Report Form No. CCDP/01324 reveals the following facts in this case. The main informant is the victim's father Najar Singh Dodhi.
Eighteen year old Rachhpal Singh, the youngest son of Najar Singh and Sawinder Kaur, was a farmer resident of village Sohian Khurd, under Majitha police station, in subdivision and district Amritsar. He had studied till Class VIII. He was an Amritdhari Sikh.
Rachhpal Singh was keenly interested in the political and militant movement and had links with the youth involved since 1987. When the police became aware of his activities, they registered a case against him and sent Rachhpal to jail. However he was acquitted and released in those cases after about two years. A cousin, Jaspal Singh s/o Kundan Singh, had also been arrested and was released at the same time as Racchpal.
Some time later another case was registered against both Rachhpal and Jaspal, and both were sent to jail. Rachhpal was released on bail a year later. Even after his release on bail, however, the police would raid his house to arrest him. Thus, Rachhpal left home. As a result, the police harassed his family even though they did not know anything about Rachhpal's activities.
In the first week of May 1992, Satnam Singh s/o Sher Singh, a Mazhabi Sikh and another boy, also a resident of Sohian Khurd, were arrested by the police, when they were visiting their families to help with harvesting the wheat crop. According to family members, Rachhpal and two other young men were arrested at Jammu by the Majitha Police and brought back on the instance of Satnam Singh.
In the month of May 1992, a newspaper reported that seven militants from Punjab had been arrested near the border at Jammu. The family did not know then that Rachhpal was among those arrested. Of the seven, three were brought back by the Majitha police, while the other four were sent to Jammu jail by the Jammu police who had registered cases against them. Rachhpal's family says that they were not aware if the Jammu police had registered cases against Rachhpal and the other two young men before they were brought back by the Punjab police.
As far as the family was aware, a young man named Charanjit Singh Channa resident of village Kalla, was arrested and brought back from Jammu and subsequently killed in an encounter along with another youth Satnam Singh. The Majitha police show Rachhpal Singh as having been killed in an encounter on 21 June 1992. Rachhpal's family learned of the encounter from a newspaper but do not remember where the encounter allegedly occurred. They also do not remember if anyone else is supposed to have been killed in the same encounter.
Rachhpal's family was so scared that they did not ask the police about Racchpal's body or cremation. Nor were they given any information about his killing or cremation. Even today they remain terrified. When the Investigation Team visited them, they twice returned with no information, and were only able to get any information on a third visit.
Rachhpal's cousin Jaspal Singh, s/o Kundan Singh, resident of Sohian Khurd was also killed in an encounter with the police near village Fatehgarh Shukar Chack under police station Sadar in 1992.

127 - 128. Under Sl. Nos. 546/309 and 547/310, the list shows two 3 December 1992 cremations carried out by Jhander police. There is no FIR number. Only the second cremation has a postmortem report marked as RKG/FM/10792. The cause of death is given as "police encounter".
The Committee's Incident-Report Form No. CCDP/01326 reveals the following facts in this case. The main informant is Baba Sewa Singh's brother Kulwant Singh.
Baba Sewa Singh, son of late Kartar Singh and late Preetam Kaur, was a Mistri Sikh resident of village Boparai, post office Nawan Tanail, under Mattewal-Chogawan police station, in Baba Bakala subdivision of Amritsar district. He qualified in Religious Education and had been the Chief Manager of Gurdwara Ber Sahib since 1980-81. Gurdwara Ber Sahib had been constructed in the memory of the 6th Guru, Sri Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji, and was located on the Amritsar - Chowk Mehta Road in the area of village Boparai. Sewa Singh also looked after the management of a school run under the aegis of the Gurdwara. The people of several villages in the area also revered Sewa Singh.
Sewa Singh was a supporter of the political struggle launched in 1982 by the Shiromani Akali Dal in support of the demands of the Sikhs. However Sewa Singh spent most of his time in kar sewa, or voluntary manual labour for the restoration and maintenance of the Gurdwara building, and in managing affairs of the Gurdwara and the school. The school in the Gurudwara taught about 3000 students.
At the time of the army attack on Sri Darbar Sahib, in June 1984, the army detained Sewa Singh and held him in their custody. During the era of militancy, the Mehta police had once arrested Sewa Singh, alleging that he gave shelter to militants in the Gurdwara. However, Sikh tenets advocate that Gurudwaras must be open to everyone and no one can be barred from coming to the Gurdwara. The Mehta police then registered a false case against him under the Arms Act and sent him to jail. After his arrest he was sent to Mall Mandi, Amritsar, where the police brutally tortured him. The police searched Gurdwara Ber Sahib many times but they did not recover anything objectionable. He was released on bail after several months.
On 2 December 1992, Sewadar Sajjan Singh and driver Prakash Singh, resident of Bulara, had gone to drop a renowned militant, Balwinder Singh Minni, resident of Diwali, to the Amritsar railway station, in a jeep belonging to the Gurdwara when the police stopped them. Once they were surrounded, Balwinder Singh committed suicide by consuming cyanide. Sajjan Singh and Prakash Singh were taken into police custody.
That same day at about 4 p.m., the police of Mehta and Mattewal-Chogawan police station surrounded Gurdwara Ber Sahib. Inspector Uham Singh, SHO of Mattewal-Chogawan police station, and Sarbjit Singh, SHO of Mehta police station, led the police party. Nobody from the village was allowed to go near the Gurdwara. People heard gun shots from 8 to 11 p.m. The next morning at sunrise, a rumour had spread that the police had shot dead Sewa Singh and a granthi Gurmej Singh, resident of Sadhpur under police station Mattewal-Chogwan, Tehsil Baba Bakala, district Amritsar.
The panchayats of the area approached the Mehta and Mattewal police, demanding Sewa Singh's body, but the police refused. The panchayats then approached the SSP Majitha, who allowed the body of Sewa Singh to be cremated under police supervision, at the cremation ground near Gurdwara Shaheedan. Family members, devotees and people of the area attended the cremation. The people of the village observe Sewa Singh's death anniversary every year.
In the newspapers of 3 December 1992, the police claimed that a fierce encounter had taken place at Gurdwara Ber Sahib, during which they killed Sewa Singh. The police also claimed that they had recovered a large quantity of lethal weapons from the Gurdwara.
The SHO of Jandiala Guru police station also arrested and killed Sewa Singh's nephew Gurdev Singh, s/o Harbans Singh and resident of Pakhoke, in a later incident.

129. Under Sl. No. 587/329, the list shows one 19 March 1993 cremation carried out by the SHO of Beas police station under FIR No. 12/93. There is no postmortem report number. The cause of death is given as "police encounter".

The Committee's Incident-Report Form No. CCDP/01336 reveals the following information in this case. The main informant in this case is Sawinder Singh, the father of the victim.
Twenty-two year old Dilbagh Singh, son of Sawinder Singh and late Surjit Kaur, was a resident of village Khojkipur, Gill Patti, under Verowal police station, in Khadur Sahib subdivision of Amritsar district. He had completed his matriculation and worked as a constable in the Punjab Armed Police. Dilbagh was a clean-shaven young man, with no political background. He had never been arrested on the suspicion of links with militants.
After working for two years with the Punjab Armed Police, Dilbagh quit his job due to fear of militants who took reprisals against police officers and came home. His family advised him to rejoin the police and Dilbagh agreed. The Punjab Armed Police, however, did not reinstate him and Dilbagh filed a case in Jalandhar Court for his reinstatement.
On 15 March 1993 Dilbagh and his wife had gone to visit his in-laws in village Budha Theh, near Beas. As he was leaving from there on 16 March 1993 to attend a hearing of his case at Jalandhar Court, the Beas police arrested him. After illegally detaining him for two days, the Beas police shot Dilbagh dead, along with another young man named Satnam Singh s/o Mohinder Singh, resident of Jallupur Khera, in a fake encounter.
On 17 March, his family learned of his arrest but they could not find out which police officer had arrested him. On inquiry, the SHO at Beas police station told them that Dilbagh was not in custody. The family also inquired at police station Khalchian but could not get any information about Dilbagh's whereabouts.
On 20 March 1993, the newspaper Tribune reported that an area commander of KCF-Panjwar, Satnam Singh ("Satta"), son of Mohinder Singh, resident of village Jallupur Khera, and his unidentified accomplice were shot in an encounter near Tong village in Majitha police district late in the night of the 19th. The police said that Satta was responsible for several killings. The police allegedly recovered two AK-47 rifles, a Mauser, two HE-36 hand grenades and eight letter pads of the militant organisation from the site of the encounter.
Dilbagh Singh's mother Surjit Kaur became chronically ill from the shock of the death of her son. She died in 1998, due to a brain hemorrhage.
The CBI's list of identified cremations shows the cremation of Satnam Singh under Sl. No. 586/164, on the same date and under the same FIR No. 12/93. His summary is discussed in the relevant section there.

130. Under Sl. No. 300/471, the list shows one 19 July 1991 cremation carried out by Suba Singh of Jhabbal police station. There is no FIR No. The postmortem report number is GSD-31/91. The cause of death is given as "fire arm injuries".
The Committee's Incident-Report Form No. CCDP/01400 reveals the following information in this case. The main informant in the case is the victim's cousin-brother Balwinder Singh.
Twenty-four year old Sarabjit Singh, son of Gurdeep Singh and Amar Kaur, was a young farmer from village Panjwar Kalan, under Jhabbal police station, in Tarn Taran subdivision of Amritsar district. Sarabjit, an Amritdhari Sikh, was unmarried. After completing his school education, Sarabjit started helping his father in the agricultural work. He had also trained himself as a reader of the scriptures and used to take part in the religious ceremonies requiring the recital of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, the main Sikh scriptures. The police became suspicious of his political attitudes because of his noticeable religiosity and, in 1991, started arresting him for interrogation under torture. Unable to endure the custodial excesses, Sarabjit started dodging the police and living outside his home. Tarn Taran police then started harassing his family members.
Very early in the morning of 19 July 1991, around 3 a.m., a large police force, led by the SSP of Tarn Taran police district, cordoned off the village for a combing operation. All male residents of the village were ordered to assemble in an open space and identify themselves. Sarabjit was not there. The police then started a house to house search and found Sarabjit in the house of one Massa Singh, doing a recitation of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib. Sarabjit was dragged away to the building of the village dispensary and brutally tortured. At 4 a.m., the police force left the village with Sarabjit in their custody.
A few hours later, Sarabjit's brother Avtar Singh and his cousin Balwinder Singh went to Jhabbal police station. Sarabjit, covered in a sheet of cloth, lay in the verandah and his condition seemed very critical. Avtar Singh and Balwinder Singh, however, could not meet SHO Suba Singh because he was not available at the police station. The next morning, SHO Suba Singh told them that Sarabjit had been transferred for further interrogation to the CIA staff office at Tarn Taran. This was a lie. Sarabjit had already been killed and cremated. On 20 July 1991, two Punjabi newspapers, Ajit and Jagbani, reported the killing of an unidentified militant in an encounter near village Jagatpur. This was confirmed by Inspector Major Singh of the CIA staff at Tarn Taran when the family members finally managed to meet him three days later. Major Singh also told them to collect Sarabjit's ashes from Tarn Taran cremation ground.
According to Balwinder Singh, they were unable to take any legal action because of the police terror.