[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 85 (Thursday, June 25, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1234-E1235]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TORTURE AND MURDER OF AKAL TAKHT JATHEDAR BY INDIAN POLICE MUST BE
INVESTIGATED AND PUNISHED
______
HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS
of new york
in the house of representatives
Thursday, June 25, 1998
Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, the truth about India's brutality towards the
Sikhs continues to come to light. A group of 13 human-rights activists
issued a statement on May 19 at a press conference in Chandigarh about
the torture and murder of Gurdev Singh Kaunke, the Jathedar of the Akal
Takht, from December 25, 1992 to January 1, 1993. After being tortured
for a week, Jathedar Kaunke, the religious leader of the Sikh Nation,
was murdered by the police.
Jathedar Kaunke was abducted on December 25, 1992 by the police from
the Jagraon subdivision of the Ludhiana district. Even Akali Dal leader
Parkash Singh Badal, now the Chief Minister of Punjab, condemned this
action. He was briefly detained for his statement. Yet he has refused
to refer this terrible incident for investigation by India's Central
Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on the flimsy pretext that it would
demoralize the murderous, out-of-control Punjab police. It is a well-
known fact among the people of Punjab that the person responsible for
the torture and murder of Jathedar Kaunke is SSP Swaran Singh Ghotna.
Ghotna is not a last name, but a very inhumane torture technique used
by the police for which he is infamous.
On January 2, 1993, the police claimed that Jathedar Kaunke had
escaped. This claim was false. He had been killed the day before.
According to a news article, he was murdered by being torn in half,
similar to the way that the driver for another religious leader, Bbab
Charan Singh, was murdered by the Indians.
The human-rights activists created a commission to look into the
matter. According to their statement, they seek ``an appointment with
the Chief Minister of Punjab to acquaint him with its findings and to
demand registration of a case against the culprits.'' They pointed out
that this demand ``is no more than a reiteration of the position that
Parkash Singh Badal himself had taken at the time of the incident. The
Akal Takht is the highest institution of the Sikhs that embodies their
sacral and secular aspirations. Its former Jathedar was inhumanly
tortured to death. We are confident that the Sikh Chief Minister of
Punjab would not treat this matter in the same lackadaisical spirit
that generally marks his attitude on our human-rights concerns.'' They
also demanded police protection for key witnesses in the case because
India has a record of intimidating, bribing, even killing witnesses.
Signers of this statement include Hindu human-rights activist Ram
Narayan Kumar, Justice Kuldip Singh, President of the World Sikh
Council, Justice Ajit Singh Bains, chairman of the Punjab Human Rights
Organization, Inderjit Singh Jaijee, chairman of the Movement Against
State Repression, Dr. Sukhjit Kaur, Maj. Gen. Narinder Singh, Amrik
Singh Muktsar, D.S. Gill, R. S. Bains, Amar Singh Chahal, Jaspal Singh
Dhillon, Mrs. Baljit Kaur, and Navkiran Singh. They should be
recognized for their courage in standing up to the Indian tyranny.
This incident reveals the truth that for minorities living under
Indian rule, there is no democracy. The mere fact that they have the
right to choose their oppressors does not mean that they live in a
democracy. In this light, it is not surprising that there are 17
freedom movements throughout India. If the United States is interested
in real freedom, peace, and stability in South Asia, we must support
self-determination for the Sikh Nation and all the nations of South
Asia. I call on my colleagues to join in supporting an internationally-
supervised plebiscite in Punjab, Khalsitan, so that the political
status of this troubled country can be decided the democratic way. I
also call for my colleagues to vote to stop all aid to India until the
basic human and democratic rights of all people are respected. I would
like to introduce the statement from The Committee for Coordination on
Disappearances in Punjab in the Record.
The Committee for Coordination on Disappearances in Punjab
Bhai Gurdev Singh Kaunke, former Jathedar of the Akal
Takht, was illegally arrested from his village home in
Jagraon subdivision of Ludhiana district on 25 December 1992.
The police authorities later claimed that Bhai Gurdev Singh
Kaunke escaped from the custody of 2 January 1993, a claim
that was widely condemned as false. Holding the then Chief
Minister Beant Singh responsible for the murder of Jathedar
Kaunke, Akali Dal (Badal) had not only demanded his
resignation but had also asked for a high powered judicial
inquiry to determine the truth. Prakash Singh Badal, the
present Chief Minister of Punjab, was himself detained when
he was visiting the bereaved at
[[Page E1235]]
their village on 5 January 1992. A copy of the Punjabi
Tribune dated 10 January 1993, which reported the Badal Akali
Dal's position on Jathedar Kaunke's case, and report of his
arrest in Ajit's 6 January 1992 edition, are enclosed.
A team specially appointed by the Committee has been
conducting investigations to determine the true facts of the
case. The team comprises the following: Ram Narayan Kumar,
Amrik Singh Muktsar, Jasapl Singh Dhillon, D.S. Gill and
Rajwinder Singh Bains. Investigation conducted by this team
conclusively proves inhuman torture of Bhai Gurdev Singh
Kaunke, first at the Sadar Police Station of Jagraon and then
at the CIA interrogation Center, from 25 December 92 to 1
January 1993. The team has also acquired irrefutable evidence
to establish that the former Jathedar of the Akal Takht was
killed under torture.
The Coordination Committee is seeking an appointment with
the Chief Minister of Punjab to acquaint him with its
findings and to demand registration of a case against the
culprits under relevant sections of the IPC. We also insist
that the government of Punjab must hand over the
investigation of the case to the CBI. Our demand, which rests
on legally binding evidence, is no more than a reiteration of
the position that Prakash Singh Badal had himself taken at
the time of the incident. The Akal Takht is the highest
institution of the Sikhs that embodies their sacral and
secular aspirations. Its former Jathedar was inhumanly
tortured to death. We are confident that the Sikh Chief
Minister of Punjab would not treat this matter in the same
lackadaisical spirit that generally marks his attitude on our
human rights concerns.
We also demand that the key witnesses in the case and their
family members be provided with adequate security from a
central police force. Our experience in the Khalra case shows
that policemen accused of grave human rights offenses resort
to every method--from cajoling, browbeating and bribing to
open threats to life--to suborn the witnesses and to destroy
the evidence. Therefore, it is crucial that the key witnesses
to the custodial torture and murder of Akal Takht's former
Jathedar are protected from harassment from the very
beginning.
Darshan Singh, former policeman at Jagraon when the
incident occurred, is a key witness in the case. We demand
that Drashan Singh and his family members be protected by the
CRPF.
We would submit a list of other important witnesses in the
case, who must likewise be protected, to the Chief Minister
when we meet him.
Justice (rtd) Kuldip Singh, President, World Sikh
Council; Justice (rtd) Ajit Singh Bains, Maj. Gen (rtd)
Narinder Singh, D.S. Gill, Amar Singh Chahal, Inderjit
Singh Jaijee, Navkiran Singh, Ram Narayan Kumar,
Converter; Dr. (Mrs.) Sukhjit Kaur, Amrik Singh
Muktsar, R.S. Bains, Jaspal Singh Dhillon, Mrs. Baljit
Kaur.
____________________