Jan
22
Nine Years Later: No Justice for Disappearance of Student Activist
January 22, 2004 | Comments Off on Nine Years Later: No Justice for Disappearance of Student Activist
The Tribune today, published in Chandigarh, India, has an article on the court case of the January 1995 disappearance of Jagraj Singh, a student activist. The Punjab police had harassed Jagraj while he was alive because of his political activities, filing fifteen cases against him; he was acquitted in all of them. Mohinder Singh, Jagraj’s father, has pursued his son’s case tirelessly in the Indian courts. After his son disappeared, Mohinder Singh approached 43 politicians and policemen before deciding to file a case. His experiences show how nine years after his son’s disappearance, he is still being forced to run from one court to the next. Today, the High Court directed Mohinder Singh to approach a Special Judge. Previously:
[T]he High Court, acting on his telegram, had issued notice to the Punjab police, but the authorities had denied the allegations. Subsequently, the High Court had asked the CBI to look into his allegations following which a case of kidnapping was registered, the petitioner had asserted.
The CBI, after probing the incident, had filed an untraced report holding that his son was not picked up by the Punjab police. Rather, he was killed in an encounter. Their closure report was, however, rejected by Patiala’s Special Judge on April 9 last year, the petitioner had stated.
Mohinder Singh recounted his experiences and perceptions of justice in an interview in the summer of 2001:
Why doesn’t the judiciary take any action against them? These judge-folks, they know everything. They listen to the pain-filled person and can tell his honesty. Yet still they are helpless . . . it’s been six and one-half years since I’ve been pushed around, and still I have no relief.
Comments
You must be logged in to post a comment.