Aug
5
NHRC Updates: Appointment of P.C. Sharma; Poohla’s Victims
August 5, 2004 | Comments Off on NHRC Updates: Appointment of P.C. Sharma; Poohla’s Victims
The Supreme Court directed the government to explain the process it followed in making the controversial appointment of former Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) director P.C. Sharma to the NHRC:
The court gave the direction to Solicitor General G.E. Vahanvati after it was pointed out by Rajinder Sachar, counsel for petitioner People’s Union for Civil Liberties, that effective consultation with the Leaders of Opposition in both houses of parliament had not taken place before Sharma’s appointment….
The PUCL questioned the government’s decision to appoint the former CBI director as a member of the NHRC on the ground that appointment of a police officer in the rights body would affect the faith of the people about its freedom and fairness to adjudicate human rights violation cases.
The petitioner contended that the convention in the appointment of an NHRC member had been violated as its chief, judge A.S. Anand, was not consulted.
In other news related to the National Human Rights Commission, kin of survivors of the disappeared maintain that Nihang Ajit S. Poohla, whose participation in human rights abuses in Punjab has been discussed in earlier posts on this blog, aided the police in the disappearances or extrajudicial executions of at least seven people. They are submitting claims to the National Human Rights Commission in response to its recent notice in the Punjab illegal cremations matter:
To the surprise of the family members of six out of seven deceased persons including Baba Resham Singh, who arrived here to record statements with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), their ‘tragic story’ found to be inter-linked. For the past 11 years, they did not approach any law enforcement agency to narrate the ‘bitter truth’ and the nightmarish experience they underwent due to the ‘terror’ created by Poohla. After the arrest of Poohla, they mustered courage to tell their tragic story….
Ms Surjit Kaur, mother of deceased Balbir Singh alias Bau alleged that her son along with Sukhdev Singh Dhunn was tortured at a ‘Dera’ of Poohla for five days before they were handed over to the police. Later, she alleged, her son and six others were got killed in two different encounters at Sabhraon and Harike by the police led by DSP Kashmir Singh. One Kuldip Singh of Jand village and brother of deceased Binder Singh alleged that after the killing of all seven persons including Baba Resham Singh, men of Poohla later assumed control of Damdama Sahib Gurdwara (Sri Hargobindpur), apart from taking possession of vehicles, cash and ‘kar seva’ material. Among other persons killed in the same encounter included Gulzar Singh of Kamboj village, Anaib Singh of Thakkar Kalan and an untraced person.
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