2014 Jamalpur fake encounter case: Justice granted but incompletely, rue kin of deceased Dalit youths

Lovleen Bains

Sahnewal, October 11

The parents of the two Dalit brothers of Bhohapur village in Machhiwara who were killed in a ‘fake’ encounter in Jamalpur complained of ‘insufficient’ justice, with only three out of the six alleged accused getting life imprisonment after an agonised wait of eight years.

Life has come to a standstill

We are passing through testing times. Leaders came and went but none thought of the pitiable state in which we are forced to live. Life came to a standstill after the death of our sons. The roof of our house gave way and we were rendered homeless. If a temporary accommodation was not provided by our neighbours, we would be on road. — Satpal Singh, Father of the deceased

“We lost our only sons Lali and Goldy eight years ago. Both of them were not only good sportspersons but social workers too who dissuaded their counterparts from falling into the trap of drug addiction and turned them towards sports so that they might channelise their energy in a positive direction, shared the hapless father, Satpal Singh.

The growing popularity of my children could not be tolerated by the so called bigwigs of the area. The youths became an eyesore for them due to their extraordinary qualities and talent. They had to pay the price for standing out in the crowd and working for the betterment of society,” he said.

“We are happy that life imprisonment has been announced for SAD leader Gurjeet Singh and two dismissed policemen but three others, Baldev Singh, who has been acquitted giving benefit of doubt, inspector Manjinder Singh and Sukhbir Singh of Payal, who were declared POs, too deserved to be punished on similar lines. Baldev was present on the spot and hit my younger son with a stick, which he was holding in his hands at the time of the fake encounter. His acquittal is purely justice denied,” the aggrieved father said.

Fate seems to have been cruel towards Satpal and his wife. They had a daughter left behind who was their sole companion after the demise of their sons. She also breathed her last a few months ago due to which Satpal was in a deep shock. He has just been discharged from hospital.

He said the situation was such that suicide seemed to be the only way out. However, since it is a sin, he and his wife were managing to survive somehow.

“At present, we are passing through testing times. Leaders came and went but none thought of the pitiable state in which we are forced to live. Life came to a standstill after the death of our sons. The roof of our house gave way and we were rendered homeless. If a temporary accommodation was not provided by our neighbours, we would have come on road,” Satpal added.

The hapless mother of the deceased was not in a situation to speak.

Former MLA Tarsem Jodhan, who had been a support for the family all through this ordeal, said representatives of almost all political parties, except the SAD, visited the home of Satpal and assured speedy justice and adequate support.

“From AAP, Bhagwant Mann, along with three other party leaders, met the aggrieved parents at that time and assured to fight for their cause. Mann was a part of the action committee constituted to demand justice for the aggrieved parents. Now, when he is the Chief Minister, we are hopeful that he would be considerate enough to understand the agony of the couple and come to their aid in this hour of dire necessity,” Jodhan said.

The deceased brothers, Harinder Singh (23), alias Lalli, and Jatinder Singh (25), alias Goldy, residents of Bhohapur village, Macchiwara, were killed at a rented accommodation at Ahluwalia Colony in the Jamalpur area of Ludhiana on September 27, 2014.

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