[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 149 (Wednesday, October 3, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2054-E2055]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 TOP POLICE OFFICIAL ARRESTED IN PUNJAB

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, October 3, 2007

  Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, recently, the former Director General of 
Police of Punjab, S.S. Virk, was arrested on September 9 on corruption 
charges. Ironically, he was arrested by the government of Chief 
Minister Parkash Singh Badal, who in his previous tenure redefined 
corruption as ``fee for service''--no fee, no service.
  Apparently, Mr. Virk managed to collect the equivalent of a billion 
dollars in assets on a meager police official's salary. I salute the 
arrest of Mr. Virk and hope he does serious jail time. But Mr. Virk 
should be arrested for more than corruption.
  Mr. Virk was Director General when tens of thousands of Sikhs were 
murdered by the Indian regime in Punjab, Khalistan. Nobody has been 
brought to justice for these murders nor for the murders of other 
minorities, such as Christians, Muslims, and others.
  I call on the Indian government to bring to justice the likes of Mr. 
Virk, K.P.S. Gill, and the others who were responsible for the 
atrocities against the Sikhs and other minorities. Until they do so, we 
should stop our aid to India and our trade with that country. And we 
should put the U.S. Congress on record in support of freedom for 
Khalistan, Kashmir, Nagalim, and the other nations seeking to be free 
in south Asia by means of a free and fair plebiscite on their status.
  The Indian newspapers gave some good coverage to Mr. Virk's arrest 
and the Council of Khalistan published an excellent press release about 
the situation.

                Former DGP Virk Arrested for Corruption

       Washington, DC, Sept. 12, 2007.--Former Punjab Director 
     General of Police S.S. Virk was arrested Sunday by the 
     Vigilance Bureau (a state agency of Punjab) for corruption. 
     He had amassed wealth in excess of 100 crore (100 million) 
     rupees. This was far in excess of what he received from his 
     position as DGP. He was also charged with misuse of his 
     official position, making private business deals as a public 
     servant. Virk had arrangements with ``Cats,'' former 
     ``militants'' who turned to working for the Indian regime, to 
     kill Sikhs throughout Punjab. While Virk was amassing this 
     wealth, half of the population of India continues to subsist 
     on less than two dollars per day.
       Hours after his arrest, he was hospitalized with high blood 
     pressure and gallstones. A case was registered against him 
     under the Prevention of Corruption Act. Virk had been removed 
     as DGP shortly before the Punjab elections earlier this year. 
     He had been suspended by the Badal government shortly after 
     it came to power in February. Former Chief Minister Amarinder 
     Singh has openly supported Virk. ``We are amazed that someone 
     of the stature of Captain Amarinder Singh supports the 
     corruption and the killing of Sikhs under S.S. Virk's 
     regime,'' said Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh, President of the 
     Council of Khalistan. Virk was quoted as saying that 
     ``everyone in the world'' keeps agents like the ``Cats.'' 
     ``Even if that were true, that does not relieve him of his 
     responsibility,'' Dr. Aulakh said. ``No law enforcement 
     agency should be allowed to murder ordinary citizens. If they 
     break the law, they should be tried in the court and 
     punishment should be determined by the courts, not by police 
     officials.''
       Virk claimed that his arrest was a ``political 
     victimization and vendetta.'' The Badal family, during their 
     prior term in office, ran the most corrupt government in 
     Punjab's history. They practiced corruption on a grand scale. 
     Unless they were paid a bribe (which they renamed ``fee for 
     service''), no service was provided. Former DGP K.P.S. Gill 
     presided over the murders of more than 50,000 extrajudicial 
     killings, which were exposed by the Punjab Human Rights 
     Organization (PHRO) in a study begun by Sardar Jaswant Singh 
     Khalra, who was picked up by the police in September 1995 and 
     murdered in police custody in October of that year.
       ``We salute the arrest of S.S. Virk,'' said Dr. Gurmit 
     Singh Aulakh, President of the Council of Khalistan. ``We are 
     glad that he is under arrest. There shouldn't be any 
     corruption in high places,'' Dr. Aulakh said. ``When will 
     Badal, Gill, and the others responsible for high-level 
     corruption and atrocities against the Sikh nation be 
     arrested?'' he asked.
       ``In a free Khalistan, no one would accept those who carry 
     out genocide against the Sikh religion and the Sikh Nation or 
     against any other people. They would all be arrested, not 
     just selectively arrested to cover the corruption of the 
     leaders ordering the arrest'' said Dr. Aulakh.
       Dr. Aulakh also cited the case of Sukhwinder Singh Sukhi, a 
     ``Cat,'' who was reported as killed. Someone was killed in 
     his place, his identity was changed, and he was used by the 
     police to kill Sikhs. ``Who was killed in Sukhi's place?'' 
     asked Dr. Aulakh. Several years ago, a Sikh man who had been 
     reported as killed by the police went to court to force the 
     government to declare him alive.
       A report issued by the Movement Against State Repression 
     (MASR) shows that India admitted that it held 52,268 
     political prisoners under the repressive ``Terrorist and 
     Disruptive Activities Act'' (TADA), which expired in 1995. 
     Many have been in illegal custody since 1984. According to 
     Amnesty International, there are tens of thousands of other 
     minorities being held as political prisoners in India. The 
     Indian government has murdered over 250,000 Sikhs since 1984, 
     more than 300,000 Christians in Nagaland, over 90,000 Muslims 
     in Kashmir, tens of thousands of Christians and Muslims 
     throughout the country, and tens of thousands of Tamils, 
     Assamese, Manipuris, Dalits, Bodos, and others. The Indian 
     Supreme Court called the Indian government's murders of Sikhs 
     ``worse than a genocide.''
       ``The time is now to launch a Shantmai Morcha to free 
     Khalistan,'' Dr. Aulakh said. ``That is the only way to 
     prevent this kind of corruption and allow the Sikh Nation to 
     live in freedom, peace, dignity, and prosperity. The time has 
     come for some pro-Sikh organizations such as Dal Khalsa and 
     others to step forward in Punjab and accelerate our struggle 
     for the liberation of Khalistan,'' he said.

[[Page E2055]]

     ``Religions cannot flourish without political power. We must 
     free Khalistan now.''

               [From the Times of India, Sept. 9, 2007.]

                  Former Punjab DGP S S Virk Arrested

       New Delhi--Former Punjab DGP S S Virk was arrested here on 
     Sunday by Punjab Vigilance Bureau in connection with a case 
     registered against him for allegedly possessing assets 
     disproportionate to his known sources of income. Virk, who 
     was removed as DGP shortly before the assembly elections in 
     Punjab this year, was arrested from Maharashtra Sadan by a 
     team of vigilance officials, senior Bureau officials said. 
     The senior IPS officer of the Maharashtra cadre, who was 
     repatriated from Punjab by the Centre after the Punjab 
     elections, was also charged with having misused his authority 
     by indulging in private business as a public servant in 
     violation of service rules, the sources said.
       The case was registered against Virk on Saturday under the 
     Prevention of Corruption Act after investigations for the 
     last few months, the sources said, adding the former DGP did 
     not offer any resistance at the time of his arrest.

               [From Rediff India Abroad, Sept. 9, 2007]

                  Former Punjab DGP S S Virk Arrested

       Former Punjab Director General of Police S S Virk, who was 
     removed shortly before the assembly poll in the state, was 
     arrested on Sunday on charges of possessing assets 
     disproportionate to his known sources of income and misuse of 
     official position.
       Virk, a senior IPS officer of the Maharashtra cadre, who 
     was arrested in Delhi by a team of Punjab Vigilance Bureau 
     officials, described the charges against him as `false and 
     fabricated.'
       A case was registered against Virk under the Prevention of 
     Corruption Act on Saturday, Vigilance Bureau Sources said, 
     adding that he did not offer any resistance at the time of 
     his arrest.
       Soon after his arrest from Maharashtra Sadan in New Delhi 
     on Sunday morning, the former Punjab Police chief was taken 
     by road to Mohali near Chandigarh where he was quizzed by 
     vigilance sleuths.
       He was also medically examined, the sources said, adding 
     that searches were also conducted at a number of places in 
     Punjab in connection with properties owned by the former DGP.
       The team that arrested Virk included four officers of the 
     rank of Superintendent of Police.
       Besides allegedly possessing assets disproportionate to his 
     known sources of income, the ex-DGP was charged with misusing 
     his authority by indulging in private business as a public 
     servant in violation of service rules.
       A visibly tired Virk, who was repatriated by the Centre 
     from Punjab after the assembly election, told media persons 
     at a police station in Mohali that all the cases registered 
     against him were false and fabricated. ``It is political 
     victimisation and vendetta,'' said the IPS officer.
       Virk, the first DGP from the state to be arrested, was 
     suspended by the SAD-BJP government, led by Parkash Singh 
     Badal, soon after it came to power in February this year.
       He was removed as DGP shortly before the assembly poll by 
     the Election Commission after the opposition SAD leveled 
     allegations of corruption against him.
       It also charged Virk with helping the then ruling Congress 
     at former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh's behest After his 
     removal as DGP, Virk was initially posted as DGP-cum-Chairman 
     Punjab Police Housing Corporation on January 22 and suspended 
     in April.
       R S Gill, a 1973 batch IPS officer, was appointed DGP 
     Punjab on January 22 after Virk was removed by the Election 
     Commission.

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