Khaira meets ‘police torture’ victims

FARIDKOT: Sukhpal Singh Khaira, who recently formed Punjabi Ekta Party, on Saturday visited Burj Jawahar Singh Wala village in Faridkot where a ‘bir’ of the Guru Granth Sahib was stolen on June 1, 2015, and later the ‘bir’ was found desecrated at Bargari on October 12, 2015.

Sukhpal Singh Khaira with victims of alleged police torture at Burj Jawahar Singh Wala village in Faridkot district on Saturday. Tribune photo

Balwant Garg

Tribune News Service

Faridkot, January 12

Sukhpal Singh Khaira, who recently formed Punjabi Ekta Party, on Saturday visited Burj Jawahar Singh Wala village in Faridkot where a ‘bir’ of the Guru Granth Sahib was stolen on June 1, 2015, and later the ‘bir’ was found desecrated at Bargari on October 12, 2015. This incident had led to state-wide protests and two Sikh protesters were killed in police firing.

Khaira was in Burj Jawahar Singh Wala to meet those persons who were allegedly tortured by the police after the Justice Zora Singh Commission report was submitted to the state government two years ago.

Blaming Justice Zora Singh (retd) for the torture of innocent persons at the hands of the police, Sukhpal Khaira said the claim of Justice Zora Singh that Gora Singh, granthi of a gurdwara in Burj Jawahar Singh Wala, was not properly questioned by the police was false and unfounded. “Gora Singh, his wife and some other innocent persons were given third-degree physical torture by the police as per the wishes of Justice Zora Singh,” said Khaira.

Even they underwent the CBI’s polygraph test, popularly referred to as a lie detector test, said Khaira. During the meeting with Khaira, granthi Gora Singh alleged on Saturday that due to severe physical torture, his wife had to undergo hysterectomy, a surgical procedure to remove a woman’s uterus.

Besides Gora Singh, Gurmukh Singh, Harbans Singh, his wife Sukhpreet Kaur, Gurjant Singh, Ranjit Singh, Harbans Singh, Kulwant Singh and Mohan Singh of the village also alleged that they were tortured in police custody.

Alleging that Justice Zora Singh was trying to extract political mileage from his report after him joining AAP, Khaira said at least 15 persons from Burj Jawahar Singh were tortured during the ongoing Bargari desecration incident investigation and one of them had also lost his mental balance.

The lives of many persons were ruined in the village after the police unleashed their ire against them following the Justice Zora Singh Commission report, alleged Khaira.

“I have decided to approach the SIT of Punjab police, probing the police firing incidents at Behbal Kalan and Kotkapura and demand action against Justice Zora Singh and police officials who were responsible for the torture of these innocent persons,” said Khaira.