In March, the Institute of Correctional Administration (ICA), based in Chandigarh, released a report regarding the prevalence of torture among Punjab Police entitled “Custodial Deaths and Human Rights Commission - an analysis of its role and prevention.”
The report’s author Dr. Upneet Lalli, Deputy Director of the ICA, interviewed 150 police officials for the study. Half […]
The Punjab State Human Rights Commission (PSHRC) last month recommended that the Punjab Government pay Rs. 25,000 to a man from Mohali who was allegedly tortured by local police. The Commission determined that the nature of the injuries prima facie suffered by the victim warranted immediate interim relief. According to the Times of India, the […]
On March 6, 2007, the U.S. State Department released its annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. According to the State Department, India “generally respected the rights of its citizens; however, numerous serious problems remained.” Among those serious problems, the State Department cited the lack of progress in holding police and security officials accountable for […]
On December 23, 2006, Jalandhar and Ropar police officials arrested three Sikhs, Amolak Singh, Jasvinder Singh, and Parmjeet Singh Dhadi, on suspicion of planning terrorist activities to disrupt next year’s assembly elections in Punjab. Mr. Dhadi, a UK citizen, claims to have been tortured in Jalandhar police custody. They have since been transferred to the high-security […]
Ensaaf has released the December 2006 issue of its quarterly newsletter, the Ensaaf DISPATCH (pdf). This DISPATCH includes the following articles:
NHRC Issues Final Order: Denial of Truth, Justice, and Reparations
Commission in Amritsar to Identify Remaining Cremations
High Court Stalling Efforts to Prosecute KPS Gill
PHR/Bellevue Respond to NHRC’s Attacks
Police Admit to Faking Over 300 Deaths
Op-Ed by Ram […]
On September 30, 2006, a court in Yamunagar held Punjab police Inspector Gurmeet Singh Pinky guilty of the murder of Avtar Singh Gola. He surrendered to the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Fatehgarh Sahib on October 16, and was sent to judicial custody in Patiala Jail. Pinky was later sentenced to life imprisonment. Avtar Singh’s father […]
On December 6, 2006, a Delhi court framed charges of criminal conspiracy and wrongful confinement, among others, against Punjab Inspector General of Police Sumedh Singh Saini, and police officers Sukhmohinder Singh Sandhu, Paramjit Singh and Balbir Chand Tiwari in the case of the 1994 abduction, illegal detention and disappearance of two Ludhiana businessmen and their […]
In late September, the Supreme Court ordered the central government and the states to implement a seven-point directive on police reform, an overhaul of the 145-year-old Indian Police Act. A Punjab committee is charged with the task of drafting a new State Police Act in furtherance of the Supreme Court’s order. The committee is set […]
The Punjab Police DGP S.S. Virk wrote a confidential letter to state SSPs in Chandigarh on Aug. 30 to confirm that political alignments and bribes were crippling police operations. DGP Virk’s letter was prompted by a meeting with Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and the Chief Secretary K.R. Lakhanpal, both of whom highlighted serious lapses […]
On September 6, 2006, Paramjit Kaur Khalra, the widow of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, filed a legal petition calling for the investigation and prosecution of former police chief KPS Gill for the abduction, illegal detention, torture, and murder of her husband. Mrs. Khalra, represented by High Court attorney Rajvinder Bains, filed the petition […]