[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.

           

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