Times of India – “AAP urges Punjab CM to order probe into extra-judicial killings in state”

CHANDIGARH: Supporting the initiative of the Independent People’s Tribunal (IPT) to collect data and details of fake encounters and extra judicial killings in Punjab, AAP Punjab Chief Whip Sukhpal Singh Khaira has urged Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh to order a thorough probe into these killings as latter had himself earlier demanded when dismissed police inspector Gurmeet Pinky had made disclosures about these killings.

Addressing a press conference here on Monday, Khaira, who is spokesperson of Punjab unit of AAP, also argued that when BJP government in Gujarat had passed a law of life imprisonment for killing a cow it should have sensitivity towards killings of humans also. “Cows should be protected but human life should not be less important than a cow’s life and BJP led union government should not dither to order a thorough time bound investigation into the sensational matter of fake encounters and illegitimate and clandestine cremation of thousands of bodies in Punjab,” he said.

Reproducing a statement issued by Captain Amarinder Singh in December 2015 in which he demanded from the state government for a thorough probe in extra judicial killings in Punjab following Pinky’s disclosures, Khaira said that it was never too late to set things right and even cited examples of apology offered by Canada after a century of Kamagatamaru incident to Indians.

AAP leader also held that Supreme Court should take suo moto cognizance of the large scale extra judiocials killings in Punjab as it had already ordered a probe in such killings in Manipur. He said that while speaking for those killed in fake encounters at the same time he strongly condemned the killing of thousands of innocent people and officers of the police force.

He also questioned the complete silence of Sikh religious and political leadership in Punjab when non-Sikhs like senior SC lawyer and Director Human Rights Law Network Colin Gonsalves, former SC Judge AK Ganguly, former Bombay High Court judge Justice Suresh and other activists were taking initiative to get justice for the families of those who were killed in fake encounters. “The families of 2097 unidentified bodies who were illegally and clandestinely cremated in Punjab during the same period, have been running from pillar to post for last more than 25 years for justice but no meaningful punishment has been meted out to the police officers responsible for such large scale fake encounters,” Khaira said. “These cold blooded murders and denials of justice remains a blot on the democracy of India, its judicial system and the executive,” he said adding that justice was neither delivered for massacre of Sikhs in November 1984.

 

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