[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 31 (Thursday, March 19, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E426-E427]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               INDIA LABELS INNOCENT SIKH A ``TERRORIST''

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. DAN BURTON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 19, 1998

  Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, it has come to my attention that 
India's Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conspired to place a 
false label of ``terrorist'' on a young Sikh man named Navjot Singh, 
and that the vaunted National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has 
ignored his case.
  I have a copy of a letter sent to the NHRC President by the young 
man's father, Tarlok Singh Chhabra, this past December 12, 1997, that 
details his case. It is very disturbing. The letter states ``that the 
CBI with the connivance of Delhi Police, planted a false claim'' 
against Navjot Singh. According to the letter, ``on protracted 
correspondence with the NHRC, it transpired that the NHRC had not 
bothered at all to go through the representation.'' Navjot Singh was 
forced to sign false papers to implicate him falsely in an incident in 
Delhi, as well as another pending case. This is an outrageous abuse of 
power, unacceptable in any country, but especially when that country 
wants to portray itself as the world's largest ``democracy.''
  Several of us recently sent a letter to the Government of Punjab 
regarding its failure to punish those responsible for the genocide 
against the Sikh Nation. It requested that the Punjab Chief Minister 
appoint a commission to investigate over 75 cases of police murder, 
rape, and torture of Sikh youth that have been documented by the CBI, 
the Supreme Court of India, and the United Nations Commission on Human 
Rights. In fact, these agencies report that this abusive behavior has 
occurred deliberately, and on a massive scale. Also, it has been 
reported that the Punjab Government is diverting the mail of a fiercely 
independent journalist named Sukhbir Singh Osan. And a number of my 
colleagues were dismayed by Prime Minister Gujral's recent threat that 
``Hindustan will not tolerate another attack on Iraq.'' Now we are 
informed about Mr. Navjot Singh and his unfortunate experience with the 
Indian Government. India may have conducted a new round of elections, 
resulting in its fifth government in two years, but it takes more than 
elections to make a democracy.
  Mr. Speaker, India is one of the five largest recipients of U.S. 
foreign aid, and the President wants to increase last year's assistance 
by almost $12 million. The Indian Government is responsible for taking 
the lives of 250,000 Sikhs in Punjab between 1984-1992, over 200,000 
Christians in Nagaland since 1974, and 53,000 Muslims in Kashmir since 
1988. There are a half-million Indian soldiers occupying the province 
of Punjab, and another half-million occupying Kashmir. We should not be 
supporting a government that condones these widespread abuses with 
American tax dollars.

  The United States is the world's preeminent power, arguably the only 
Nation on earth with both the economic might and the moral legitimacy 
to make the observance of human rights a pillar of its foreign policy. 
The unfortunate peoples of the world, whose basic human rights are 
suppressed either by tyrants or failed economic experiments, turn to 
the United States for hope, not cheap imports! From India to China, the 
people who suffer under such regimes understand that, if America joins 
their struggle by sacrificing short-term economic gain for long-term 
justice and freedom, the regimes will ultimately succumb.
  An increase in aid is difficult to justify to the American people, 
who send their hard-earned tax dollars to a country that obviously 
shares none of our most-cherished values. The time has come for action, 
it is time for America to take a stand.
  The Human Rights in India Act, introduced by me along with my good 
friend and colleague Gary Condit of California, will bar development 
aid to India unless the government releases prisoners of conscience, 
ends the practice of torture by police and military forces, permits 
impartial investigations of reported torture and disappearances of 
those in custody, brings to justice police forces responsible for human 
rights abuses, and permits critics of the government to travel abroad,
  My colleagues, from this well of the House of Representatives you 
will hear many stories of human rights abuses from all around the 
world. Today, I ask that you think of the hundreds of thousands who are 
suffering in India. Please do not turn your back on the innocent. Give 
them a flicker of hope and send a strong message to the Government of 
India. I urge my colleagues to give the Human Rights in India Act their 
full consideration, and their strong support.
  I am placing Mr. Chhabra's letter into the Record, and recommend that 
my colleagues give it their immediate attention.

     Subject: Conspiracy of the CBI to implicate Mr. Navjot Singh, 
         an innocent boy & labelled him fraudulently as a 
         ``terrorist''
     The Chairman,
     National Human Rights Commission, New Delhi.
       Sir: Your attention is invited immediately to paras 6 and 7 
     of my representation dated 19-1-96, which is reproduced for 
     ready reference: ``That the CBI with the Connivance of Delhi 
     Police, planted a false case and implicated him in FIR 681/95 
     of 27-9-95 and he was lodged in Tihar Jail Delhi for about 6 
     weeks in `C' class and that too in solitary confinement 
     whereas in Chandigarh he was kept in `B' class on account of 
     his academic and professional qualifications. That the 
     falsification of Delhi Police case can be proven by its own 
     concocted story, that on 17-9-95 he had been arrested from 
     our home and on the next day produced in the Chandigarh 
     Police and remanded to police custody & then Judicial custody 
     and it was from Burail Jail Chandigarh only to Delhi and 
     planted a false case against him in Delhi whereas he was 
     never present at Delhi on 27-09-95 as he was present in his 
     office up to the last date of his arrest. During his police 
     remand Delhi, he was interrogated by the officers/officials 
     of the CBI only and not by any other Agency. There at also he 
     was forced to sign many blank papers etc.''
       2. On protracted correspondence with the NHRC, it 
     transpired that the NHRC had not bothered at all to go 
     through the representation in totality and had taken the 
     matter lightly which required rapt attention of the NHRC in 
     such a crucial matter involving the whole career of an 
     educated young man. I have the documentary evidence to 
     adduce, that it is all a conspiracy of the CBI officials to 
     implicate my son falsely in Delhi case as well as Beant Singh 
     case. What the hell on earth is that my son was forced to 
     sign many blank papers including few diary pages of an old 
     diary at gun point? Why duty is not cast upon the 
     investigating agencies to faithfully discharge their duties 
     and not involve innocent people in concocted and false cases 
     which has glaringly happened in our case? Why penal action 
     should not be taken against defaulting officials, who 
     themselves behave like criminals and human rights are 
     violated? A thorough enquiry be conducted and I be associated 
     with the NHRC Court proceedings with following observations 
     besides other issues:
       1. The name of my son in FIR 681/95, does not figure at all 
     at any stage.
       2. The concocted confessional statement has been written in 
     a language other than English and his signatures in English 
     were already taken on blank sheets besides diary writings and 
     few papers might have been filled in later on suiting the 
     whims and fancies of the investigating officials, which is 
     again a criminal offence on the part of the so called 
     investigating officials and this fact cannot be ignored.
       3. The Delhi case against my son came into being only as 
     CBI were refused further remand by Chandigarh Court in Beant 
     Singh case, in which he was falsely implicated already.
       4. My son had never known any person named as co-accused or 
     to any witness cited by the prosecuting agency, which again 
     shows implication in a false and concocted case.
       5. He was already arrested on 17-9-95 and was already 
     lodged in Changigarh Jail, whereas the Delhi FIR came into 
     being on 27-9-95, what a big fraud? He was straight away 
     taken from Chandigarh Jail for Delhi, it is highly 
     unbelievable as to how the Delhi Police came to know that he 
     was already lodged in Chandigarh Jail, whereas in the 
     statement of a witness falsely brought on record by Delhi 
     Police in connivance with CBI, as the complete residential 
     address as well as the name of father of Navjot Singh was 
     completely missing, requires thorough probe and stern action 
     against the erring officials, both of CBI and the Delhi 
     Police which culminated in implicating an innocent boy in 
     false cases. It is pertinent to add that he was subjected to 
     3rd degree methods, just to compel him to become approver in 
     Beant Singh assassination case which he flatly refused to do 
     so. He was also threatened that he will be implicated in 
     other false cases of other states too and his family members 
     shall also be subjected to all sorts of tortures etc.


                                 PRAYER

       I urge to your Lordship to please raise our case to its 
     entirety and book the culprit officers/officials of the CBI 
     and of Delhi police in whose connivance all episode of Delhi 
     case as well as Chandigarh case took place, which

[[Page E427]]

     had shaken the whole precious life of my only son.
           Yours faithfully,
                                             Tarlok Singh Chhabra,
                                           889, Sector-60, MOHALI.

     

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