'Dead' man turns out to be alive in Patiala: 'What about my son'? Father of second man 'killed' in encounter

Tribune News Service

Mohit Khanna

Patiala, October 17

After 70-year-old Jagir Singh, who was shown killed in the police encounter in 1992, was found alive in Patiala, the focus has shifted to the status of Jagir’s friend Daljit Singh, who was also shown killed in the encounter.

Kashmir Singh, Daljit Singh’s father, who is fighting the case in the CBI court, has demanded a fresh probe to find out the whereabout of his son, who was also shown killed in the encounter on December 29, 1992.

He has also demanded to investigate that if Jagir was alive, then who was killed in his place. A retired electricity department employee, Kashmir Singh (70) along with his wife Savinder Kaur (65) is running from pillar to post for the past 31 years, claiming that his son Daljit Singh (then 20) was killed in a fake police encounter.

Kashmir said merely a few days after the encounter in 1992, he had spotted Jagir in the area and also informed then police officials about it, but no action was taken. Soon, Jagir disappeared. “I tried my best to find him, but failed. A few years later, I had learnt that he was caught in a drug smuggling case and was in a jail,” he said. Getting emotional, Kashmir said, “I just want to know what they had done to my son.”

SHO convicted

Of the four police officials, main accused Dharam Singh, then SHO, Lopoke police station in Amritsar, and Tarsem Lal, then SI, CIA staff, Majitha, are alive while Swaran Singh, then SI, CIA staff, Majitha, and Avtar Singh, then Head Constable, Majitha, died during the course of the trial. Dharam Singh was sentenced to life imprisonment along with two other cops by a CBI court in September in a separate fake encounter case.

Jagir traced to Amritsar

• Had Jagir Singh not attended a bhog ceremony at his native Awan Lakha Singh village in Chogawan, Amritsar, a month ago, he would have continued to remain dead in police records
• Kashmir Singh also attended the ceremony. He identified Jagir and informed his lawyers representing the case in the CBI court. Jagir deposed before the CBI court, stating that he was not killed in the encounter that took place on December 29,1992

Waiting for court directions

We had filed a case before the court claiming that it was a fake encounter. Jagir Singh, who was shown as killed in the encounter, has appeared before the court and confirmed that he is alive. Now we are waiting for the directions of the court to further investigate the case. — A CBI officer in Chandigarh

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#Fake Encounter #human rights #Kashmir