Jaswant Singh Khalra abduction case key witness passes away

Kirpal Singh Randhawa, former deputy chairperson of the Punjab Human Rights Organisation (PHRO), passed away following a cardiac arrest last night. He was 72.

The PHRO has been at the forefront of the human rights movement in the state in the 1980s and 90s.

Randhawa was closely associated with the late human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra. He was a key eyewitness of Khalra’s abduction by police personnel on September 6, 1995.

Sarabjit Singh Verka, head of the investigation wing of the PHRO, said Randhawa breathed his last around 10 pm at his residence in Kabir Park, Amritsar.

“Randhawa was implicated in more than six false criminal cases by the Punjab Police to obstruct his testimony in the Jaswant Singh Khalra murder trial,” alleged Verka.

In a landmark ruling, the Patiala District and Sessions Court had awarded Randhawa a compensation of Rs 1.2 crore in connection with the cases registered against him, a rare judicial acknowledgment of police excesses during that era.

Randhawa was also an author. His book “Unending debate on Human Rights in Punjab” offers a detailed account of human rights violations in the state between 1985 and 1993, making it a critical document of that period.