Fake encounter victim’s son a cop now, says can’t blame entire force
After two former Tarn Taran cops were convicted by a CBI court in a 1993 fake encounter case, it was a moment of catharsis for deceased Sukhwant Singh’s family.
Sukhwant’s wife Mohinder Kaur, son Rajbir Singh Dhillon and his sister were there when the court convicted Sita Ram (80), then Patti SHO, and constable Rajpal (57) in a 32-year-old case in Mohali on Monday.
Rajbir Singh, youngest of Sukhwant’s four children, was in his father’s lap when the police officials picked him up that day from Bahmniwala village on February 5, 1993. It is an irony of sorts that Rajbir, who was orphaned by cops 32 years ago, is himself a Punjab Police constable now.
As a five-year-old, he has faint memories of that day. “He had taken me in his lap and was playing with me when cops barged into the house that morning,” he recounts.
Now posted as a Punjab Police employee at Saanjh Kendra, Phase 8, Rajbir says he and his three elder siblings studied at Guru Aasra Trust school after his father’s sudden disappearance as family resources had dwindled. “Had we studied in good schools, may be, we could have done better in life. It is due to my mother’s hard work that I got a government job in the Punjab Police,” he said. When mediapersons asked him how he felt working in a department whose officials had his father’s blood on their hands, Rajbir replied, “That was a very different time when innocent people were picked up by cops and eliminated. The entire police force is not bad. Sita Ram was bad, he is punished,” he said.
Sukhwant’s wife Mohinder Kaur (60), however is as unforgiving as she was 32 years ago. “I have four children. I brought them up with great difficulty. I want death sentence for all those who have been acquitted. Only then will I get justice,” she said.
According to the CBI, Gurdev Singh, alias Deba, of Galalipur in Tarn Taran was picked up from his house by the police on January 30, 1993. Six days later, Sukhwant Singh of Bahmniwala village was also picked by the Patti police. Both were shown killed in an encounter on February 6, 1993, in the Bhagupur area. The bodies were cremated as “unclaimed”.
Kin of encounter victims to challenge cops’ acquittal
Family members of Gurdev Singh of Gulalipur village and Sukhwant Singh of Bahmiwala (Patti) on Tuesday said they would approach the Punjab and Haryana High Court challenging the acquittal of five policemen in the 32-year-old fake encounter case by a Mohali court.
Mohinder Kaur and Rajbir Singh said they would continue their fight till they got justice in the case.
