Cop says he was forced to stage encounters
Tells High Court he is willing to depose against his seniors; submits a list of ‘victims’
Saurabh Malik
Tribune News Service
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130706/punjab.htm#2
Chandigarh, July 5
The past has come to haunt the Punjab Police. For years, the killing of innocent youths for medals and promotions during the days of militancy was a matter of conjectures and surmises. But a blast from the past has brought the matter under judicial scrutiny.
Sub-Inspector (SI) Surjit Singh today moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court, claiming he was “compelled by his senior officers to kill youngsters in fake encounters.” He has, among others, named former police chief KPS Gill, in the list of officers involved. He has also given a list of “victims” and made it clear that he is willing to depose against his seniors.
The petition for protection narrates a tale of neglect and unfulfilled promises made to policemen who “fought” militancy. “The men he had served with such devotion and faith are not worth his loyalty and devotion, but a bunch of selfish men out to commit any crime for small benefits and promotions,” his counsel asserted.
Mincing no words, Surjit Singh said “unscrupulous senior officers of the Punjab Police killed innocent citizens in fake encounters by using their juniors for their own promotions and police medals…. The fight was much prolonged due to the atrocities of a group of sadist officers, who delighted themselves with torture and death.”
Implicating his senior, Surjit Singh asserted that he “killed many innocent youngsters in fake encounters under the supervision of Paramjit Singh Gill, the then Senior Superintendent of Police, Amritsar.”
Surjit Singh insisted that the encounters of known terrorists/ wanted persons were staged too “so that there was no need for collection of evidence to try them in a court of law”.
Confessing his hand in the encounters, Surjit Singh said he showed courage by “participating in major encounters and was much appreciated for his fearless action in combat”.
Giving reasons for his confession, his counsel RS Bains said: “The weight of the crime, which the petitioner has committed and which he has witnessed, always made him sad.
“Remorse has set in to at least make an honest confession to those families whose children he had been instrumental in killing in the mistaken belief that he is doing his duty at the command of senior officers, who knew very well that they are committing crimes for private ends.They used the petitioner due to his immature age…” Also, while Surjit Singh’s juniors were promoted, he was not even regularised as Sub-Inspector. Bains said the High Court in September 2012 had directed the State of Punjab and the Director-General of Police to decide on a representation by Surjit Singh. “When he went to the Tarn Taran SSP, Ranjit Singh Hundal, he was not only denied a hearing but also beaten up threatened with elimination in a fake encounter.”
Tells High Court he is willing to depose against his seniors; submits a list of ‘victims’
Saurabh Malik
Tribune News Service
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130706/punjab.htm#2
Chandigarh, July 5
The past has come to haunt the Punjab Police. For years, the killing of innocent youths for medals and promotions during the days of militancy was a matter of conjectures and surmises. But a blast from the past has brought the matter under judicial scrutiny.
Sub-Inspector (SI) Surjit Singh today moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court, claiming he was “compelled by his senior officers to kill youngsters in fake encounters.” He has, among others, named former police chief KPS Gill, in the list of officers involved. He has also given a list of “victims” and made it clear that he is willing to depose against his seniors.
The petition for protection narrates a tale of neglect and unfulfilled promises made to policemen who “fought” militancy. “The men he had served with such devotion and faith are not worth his loyalty and devotion, but a bunch of selfish men out to commit any crime for small benefits and promotions,” his counsel asserted.
Mincing no words, Surjit Singh said “unscrupulous senior officers of the Punjab Police killed innocent citizens in fake encounters by using their juniors for their own promotions and police medals…. The fight was much prolonged due to the atrocities of a group of sadist officers, who delighted themselves with torture and death.”
Implicating his senior, Surjit Singh asserted that he “killed many innocent youngsters in fake encounters under the supervision of Paramjit Singh Gill, the then Senior Superintendent of Police, Amritsar.”
Surjit Singh insisted that the encounters of known terrorists/ wanted persons were staged too “so that there was no need for collection of evidence to try them in a court of law”.
Confessing his hand in the encounters, Surjit Singh said he showed courage by “participating in major encounters and was much appreciated for his fearless action in combat”.
Giving reasons for his confession, his counsel RS Bains said: “The weight of the crime, which the petitioner has committed and which he has witnessed, always made him sad.
“Remorse has set in to at least make an honest confession to those families whose children he had been instrumental in killing in the mistaken belief that he is doing his duty at the command of senior officers, who knew very well that they are committing crimes for private ends.They used the petitioner due to his immature age…” Also, while Surjit Singh’s juniors were promoted, he was not even regularised as Sub-Inspector. Bains said the High Court in September 2012 had directed the State of Punjab and the Director-General of Police to decide on a representation by Surjit Singh. “When he went to the Tarn Taran SSP, Ranjit Singh Hundal, he was not only denied a hearing but also beaten up threatened with elimination in a fake encounter.”