Nearly 135 cops, mostly of lower rank, have been sentenced so far in Punjab in the pursuit of justice started by human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra against the Punjab Police for carrying out fake encounters and cremating unclaimed bodies.
Khalra’s life and pursuit of justice, which eventually cost him his life, are in the news again after a fresh ban on a movie titled ‘Satluj’ (earlier Punjab 95).
The ban has renewed calls for justice for him, with actor Diljit Dosanjh, who played Khalra in the movie, leading the movement on social media with a cryptic post: “Seems Khalra cannot get justice even so many years after his death,” he said, referring to the fresh ban on the movie.
Khalra’s fight began in the early 1990s when he claimed that 25,000 “innocent” youths were killed in staged encounters by Punjab Police during the dark days of terrorism in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Khalra was also abducted and killed in September 1995, after the assassination of Chief Minister Beant Singh. His body was never recovered.
As per figures available from police and lawyers fighting the fake-encounter cases, nearly 135 cops have been sentenced to imprisonment so far.
In 2005, a CBI court in Patiala sentenced six cops for the disappearance and killing of Khalra. DSP Jaspal Singh and ASI Amarjit Singh were sentenced to life imprisonment, while SHOs/Sub-Inspectors Satnam Singh, Surinderpal Singh, Jasbir Singh and Head Constable Pritpal Singh each received seven-year terms for abduction and conspiracy.
However, the fake-encounter cases he had flagged were still pending.
Advocate Sarabjit Singh Verka, who fought many such cases, said the convictions were delayed for decades, adding to the misery of the victims’ families.
Quoting court judgments, he said after Khalra’s disappearance, SGPC president Gurcharan Singh Tohra sent telegrams to the Supreme Court asking for a probe. A Supreme Court bench led by Justice Kuldip Singh directed the CBI to investigate. The agency identified 2,087 cases and filed 70 FIRs in 2001. However, trials were delayed for almost 25 years due to a lack of government sanction for prosecution.
Meanwhile, the Akali-led Punjab government established a legal cell within the police department to defend the accused officers, covering their legal expenses while victims’ families sold land and valuables to fund their cases.
Verka said the sanction for prosecution was finally granted in 2020 after Supreme Court intervention, leading to a wave of convictions over the past two years.
Of the 70 FIRs, six cases are still pending trial. Among the 64 decided cases, only one resulted in an acquittal.
“I would say Justice has been met, but a lot needs to be done. Yes, Punjab Police committed a grave crime, but another security agency of the country – the CBI – conducted a thorough probe and delivered justice. They even took up cases where the families were not coming forward.”
Verka said, however, that the families have not received adequate compensation and some feel the sentences could have been harsher. “We are talking about people who lost their young ones but still fought a legal battle for even 32 years.”
Most of the police officials convicted were of lower rank. The senior officers include DIGs Balkar Singh Sidhu, Dilbagh Singh, Kultar Singh, and Basra, as well as SSPs Bhupinder Singh, Amarjit Singh, and Surinder Pal Singh.
Mohinder Singh, general secretary of the Punjab Police Welfare Association, said the cops who received prison sentences were actually victims of terrorism and the system.
“They faced bullets from the terrorists. Police morale was down and cops were the main targets. These cops did what the seniors told them to do. They never had the rank to take independent decisions or exercise independent powers. Their families are also seeking financial compensation from the government,” he added.
