Dec
22
Villagers Seek Arrest of Nihang Leader; Same leader implicated in human rights abuses
December 22, 2003 | Comments Off on Villagers Seek Arrest of Nihang Leader; Same leader implicated in human rights abuses
A Tribune article describes protests by villages for the arrest of Nihang leader, Baba Ajit Singh Poohla (also misspelled as Phoola). During the field research of the Committee for Coordination on Disappearances, they found that several survivors also implicated Ajit Singh Poohla in human rights abuses in conjunction with Punjab police officers. For example, in the case of Manjit Kaur’s husband Sardul Singh, Poohla forcibly detained Manjit Kaur for two nights at his house (after she was forcibly detained for one night at the house of Senior Superintendent of Police Ajit Singh Sandhu) in return for her husband’s freedom. The police still tortured and executed Sardul Singh.
Poohla was also involved in the disappearances of Baba Resham Singh and several people working under his leadership on the renovation of the historical gurudwara Sri Hargobindpur. Poohla wanted to take control over the gurudwara and, in collusion with the Tarn Taran police, abducted Baba Resham Singh and his close associates. They were tortured and, following their refusal to handover the control of the gurudwara to Poohla, were killed in the night between 27 and 28 April 1993, in two separately orchestrated “encounters.”
(Please click on the links for CCDP’s case summaries.)
Comments
You must be logged in to post a comment.