10.2004 - Source: UK Home Office

Current security situation in Punjab ("Country Report - October 2004") [#28325],  [ID 7584]

"[...]6.125 The Danish Immigration Service consulted various individuals, authorities and organisations regarding the security situation during their fact-finding mission to Punjab in March and April 2000. According to the UNHCR in Delhi, the security situation in Punjab is now under control, but as the UNHCR does not have a presence in Punjab they could not comment on the situation in detail. Three foreign diplomatic missions in India agreed that the situation in Punjab had considerably improved and that the conflict between various groups had calmed down. Acts of violence in Punjab were becoming less common, and were now at a low level. Two of the missions reported that incidents do occasionally occur, such as explosions caused by bombs on buses and trains, but that such incidents occur in the rest of India, and not exclusively to Punjab. Officials of the Committee for Co-ordination on Disappearances in Punjab (CCDP) considered that Punjab was now peaceful and that there were no problems with militant groups and no political problems either. A foreign Embassy consulted, reported that several people who had previously been militants and who had served their sentences for terrorist activities now lived a normal life in Punjab. [37](p19)

6.126 As cited in their fact finding report of 2000, the Danish Immigration Service also spoke to Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal, who underlined that there were now no security problems in Punjab. Badal underlined that co-operation between the State Government and central Government was good. Former Advocate-General G.S. Grewal pointed out that cases concerning human rights abuse were different from before in that now the abuse was individual and had specific reasons. Sikhs were not subjected to torture just because they were Sikhs or because of the general political situation. One diplomatic mission also commented that the situation was not perfect but that Sikhs in general were not being persecuted. The problems were of a different nature than before, and were often due to problems in local society, e.g. disputes over land, etc. [37] (p13,39 & 34)

6.127 According to Satp.org in its Punjab Assessment – 2002, it noted that “The Indian State of Punjab remains largely free from terrorist violence for the ninth consecutive year after the terrorist secessionist movement for Khalistan was comprehensively defeated in 1993. However, there remain a handful of terrorist groups, mainly sponsored by Pakistan and by some non-resident Indian Sikh groups based in the West, who continue to propagate the ideology of Khalistan.” [85] (p.1)

6.128 According to Amnesty International (AI) in their report India – Break the cycle of impunity and torture in Punjab January 2003, “Since 1995 there have been no reports of killings of human rights defenders in Punjab, although AI belives that human rights defenders are still subject to constant surveillance and have been subjected to harassment, threats and violent attacks by the police in attempts to intimidate and silence them.” [51](p17)

6.129 The same 2003 AI report states that there has been an overall increase in crimes against women recorded in Punjab in the post militancy period, particularly with regard to matrimonial disputes. In response the police created “women cells” at district level to specifically deal with offences against women. However it is reported that these units lack staffing and other resources. [51](p24)

6.130 AI state in their 2003 report that the Supreme Court issued 11 directives known as the “DK Basu guidelines” to be followed in all cases of arrest or detention as preventive measures against torture in custody in addition to the safeguards in the Code of Criminal Procedure. The Director General of Police in Punjab has reportedly instructed the police force that these guidelines should be observed – in accordance with the Supreme Court’s request to all DGPs. However they have not been incorporated into the Punjab Police Rules 1935 under which the police act or in any other police manual. Amnesty believes that the ‘guidelines’ are routinely ignored in most police stations. [51](p18)

6.131Amnesty notes in the Punjab 2003 report that the failure to implement the legal safeguards for detainees, cannot be solely attributed to a lack of will of individual police officers but in part is linked to difficult working conditions in which most police operate in Punjab. The police authorities or the Punjab Human Rights Commission have initiated or ordered internal inquiries or taken disciplinary action against offending police officers involved in unlawful practices. However, officers due for suspension have often remained on active duty at the same police station in which that offence was committed. Because police disciplinary action is conducted internally, it is often difficult for the judiciary and civil society to monitor their implementation. [51](p19)
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Document(s): Open document

10.2004 - Source: UK Home Office

Prosecution of security force personnel in Punjab ("Country Report - October 2004") [#28325],  [ID 7585]

"[...]6.111 The US State Department Report 2003 (USSD) noted that, “In Punjab the pattern of disappearances prevalent in the early 1990’s has ended; however hundreds of police and security officials were not held accountable for the serious human rights abuses committed during the counter-insurgency of 1984-94…The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) claimed to be pursuing actively charges against dozens of police officials implicated in the "mass cremations" in which police in Amritsar, Patti, and Tarn Taran district secretly disposed of approximately 2,000 bodies of suspected militants.” [2c] (p7)

6.112 The Times of India in September 1997 reported Union Home Ministry figures that 123 police officials were facing trial for taking alleged illegal steps against terrorists, while 2,555 petitions had been filed against Punjab police officers by individuals and human rights organisations. The same article referred to a protest by Punjab police which said that police officers who had played a key role in containing terrorism in Punjab were now being harassed and hounded for alleged excesses and human rights violations. The protest gained momentum following the suicide of the former Tarn Taran SSP Ajit Singh, who the police claim was driven to this step because of a "witch hunt". [13f]

6.113 India Today June 1997 reported that police officers in Punjab felt abandoned by the Government and frustration was mounting in the force as more than 2,000 officers were being brought to account for the extra-judicial methods that were employed in fighting terrorism. In 1995, 585 petitions were filed in different courts. The number had doubled by June 1997, by which time the Punjab police were facing 85 CBI and 91 judicial probes. 30 policemen were in jail, around 100 were out on bail and 140 were facing prosecution. [11a]

6.114 According to the Documentation, Information and Research Branch (DIRB) after interviewing four specialists in 1997: The panel agreed that, ”The central Government had been attempting to rein in the Punjab police, who during the insurgency were responsible for large numbers of extrajudicial executions and disappearances”. Investigations into allegations of human rights abuses,” have sent a strong signal that the climate of impunity for the Punjab police is ending…even though that climate has been deeply ingrained over many years and will take a long time to change”… Reference is also made to the extensive human rights training for the police in India, which is seen as an example of the general trend in India towards recognising and addressing systemic problems with the police. One of the panel members “acknowledged that occasional violations might still take place, he predicted that the likelihood of future disappearances at the hands of the Punjab police is very low”. [4f](p6-7)

6.115 According to the USSD 2003, “No action has been taken against the approximately 100 police officials who were under investigation for abuses committed while suppressing the violent insurgency in Punjab”. [2c](p8) 6.116 The USSD 2003 noted that, “In Punjab, cases of torture were inadequately prosecuted, and victims frequently refused to accept compensation out of fear of retribution. Allegations by human rights activists that victims were hounded and harassed by government agents were common.” [2c](p8)

6.117 In a letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions (dated 27 September 2003) Ram Narayan Kumar, Convener of the Committee for Co-ordination on Disappearances, accused the Indian government of perpetuating human rights violations by failing to take action against those responsible for the violations. Mr Kumar highlighted a number of reasons why impunity in the Punjab prevail, one of the main reasons being that security officials were often promoted instead of being brought to justice. Mr Kumar cited the case of Sanjiv Gupta who is believed to be responsible for the disappearance [83] (p.4- 6) and murder of Sukhdev Singh in 1993. [12d] (p.9) Despite the Central Bureau of Investigation indicting and recommending criminal sanctions against Sanjiv Gupta, Gupta was recently promoted to the rank of Inspector General, the second highest position in the Punjab police. [83] (p.4-6)
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Document(s): Open document

10.2004 - Source: UK Home Office

Military violence in Punjab - additional information ("Country Report - October 2004") [#28325],  [ID 7586]

"[...]6.93 According to a Canadian IRB report dated 8 July 1998, the Sikh militant movement is no longer active in Punjab. The hard core militants have either been physically wiped out or are no longer in India. There is no obvious support for the militants. [4h] According to an expert report written by Cynthia Keppley Mahmood in 1998, two militant organisations retain a capacity for activism, namely the Babbar Khalsa under the leadership of Wadawa Singh and the Khalistan Commando Force led by Paramjit Singh Panjwar. They are believed to retain bases in Pakistan and to have an international circle of support. [19a]

6.94 The Documentation, Information and Research Branch (DIRB) of the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Board interviewed four specialists on the situation in Punjab in January 1997. “The panel broadly agreed that Sikh militancy in Punjab had been virtually eliminated”. Militant organisations had been shut down, reduced in size, key leaders arrested, gone underground or had abandoned the movement, and those supporters who remained have struggled to maintain funding and morale”. Other indications were apparent of a weakened Sikh militancy. Nevertheless the Sikh search for some sort of political supremacy in the region remained a powerful ideology, and although the militants' ability to assert themselves had been suspended, future Sikh militant action could not be discounted. [4f](p3-4)

6.95 As cited in a statement dated May 1998 by Dr. Cynthia Keppley Mahmood of the University of Maine reports that, “Overt support for the militants has slipped dramatically, but the grievances that prompted the Khalistan movement are still there”. [19b](p2)

6.96 According to Satp.org in its Punjab Assessment – 2002, it noted that, “In the year 2002, till May 30, five persons were killed and 39 others injured in terrorism related violence in the Punjab. During this period, a total of four terrorists were arrested and another surrendered.” In the previous year (2001), only one terrorist related fatality was reported. [85] (p.1) [...]"

Document(s): Open document

06.04.2004 - Source: BBC News

Punjab: 15 people charged with treason for their alleged role in helping prisoners to escape Burail Jail ("Charges after Punjab jailbreak") [#21169],  [ID 7588]

"Police in the Indian state of Punjab have charged 15 people with treason for their alleged role in helping four remand prisoners to escape in January.

The escapees included three men accused of the 1995 assassination of Punjab's Chief Minister, Beant Singh. [...]

After an investigation lasting 74 days, police have failed to recapture any of the escapees.

But in a detailed charge sheet, 15 people including six top jail officials are accused of treason and criminal conspiracy.

The BBC's Asit Jolly in Chandigarh says that the case will now be tried in a local court.

One of those on the run is Jagtar Singh Hawara, accused of planning the killing of Chief Minister Beant Singh, who was widely credited for his tough stance against separatist militants in Punjab.

Mr Hawara is alleged to be a member of the Sikh separatist movement Babbar Khalsa International, which has been designated as a terrorist organisation by Britain and America."

Document(s): Open document

04.2004 - Source: UK Home Office

Militant violence in Punjab ("Country Report - April 2004") [#22427],  [ID 7587]

"6.91 According to an Asia Watch report, Punjab in crisis, virtually all of the militant groups in Punjab pursued their campaign for a separate State of Khalistan through acts of violence directed not only at members of the police and security forces but also specifically at Hindu and Sikh civilians. After they first emerged in the early 1980s the militants assassinated civil servants, politicians, journalists, businessmen, other prominent individuals and ordinary Hindu and Sikh civilians. There were also indiscriminate attacks apparently designed to cause extensive civilian casualties, in some cases firing automatic weapons into residential and commercial areas, derailing trains, and exploding bombs in markets, restaurants and other civilian areas. Some of these attacks occurred outside Punjab in neighbouring States and in New Delhi. [22](p170)
6.92 The Asia Watch report states that most of the militant groups in Punjab traced their origins to Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. After the storming of the Golden Temple the number of militant groups operating in Punjab grew. The militants were organised into at least seven major groups and all theoretically operated under the authority of one of the Panthic Committees which functioned as decision making bodies and issued instructions. The main militant organisations were: the Khalistan Commando Force (Paramjit Singh Panjwar faction); Khalistan Commando Force (Zaffarwal); Khalistan Commando Force (Rajasthani group); Babbar Khalsa; Khalistan Liberation Force (Budhisingwala); Bhindranwale Tiger Force of Khalistan (Sangha); Bhindranwale Tiger Force (Manochahal); All India Sikh Student Federation (Manjit); All India Sikh Student Federation (Mehta Chawla); and the Sikh Student Federation (Bittu). [22](p170,172-173)
6.93 Asia Watch reported in their Punjab in Crisis reported that “motives for the attacks varied. Moderate Sikh political leaders were assassinated for opposing the militants. Other leaders were killed as a result of militant group rivalries. A number of militant groups tried to impose a Sikh fundamentalist ideology, issuing directives that stipulated appropriate conduct for Sikhs and prohibiting the sale of tobacco and alcohol. Failure to obey these orders meant punishment, including death. In late 1990 and early 1991 militant groups issued "codes of conduct" for journalists which also carried a death penalty for those who dared to disobey. Sikhs belonging to minority sects, which advocated practices perceived as heretical by orthodox Sikhs, were also murdered. Attacks on civilians were claimed as acts of retaliation for Government violence. Other killings appeared to represent executions of suspected collaborators or informers. Militants also kidnapped civilians for extortion, frequently murdering their victims when their demands were not met. Threats were made to the minority Hindu population in an effort to drive them out of Punjab. As a result thousands of Hindus fled the State”. [22](p175)"

Document(s): Open document

25.02.2004 - Source: US Department of State

USDOS: Punjab: Honor killings ("Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2003") [#19765],  [ID 7589]

"[...]"Honor killings" were also a problem. Human Rights organizations estimated that up to 10 percent of all killings in the northern states of Punjab and Haryana were so-called honor killings; however, many more women are believed to be affected by this crime. In Muzaffarnagar, 13 cases of honor killings were report during the first 9 months of the year, up from 10 in 2002. [...]"

Document(s): Open document