source:
[www.ihro.in]


The Ludhiana Senior Superintendent, Police, Mr. Summed Singh Saini, announced on February 15, 1989, at Ludhiana that Prof. Rajinderpal Singh Gill was one of the three "terrorists" killed in an encoun¬ter with the police on the night of January 26, 1989.

The International Human Rights Organisation has carried out an investigation of the matter. A team of three of its activists did the investigation namely Mr. D. S. Gill, Mr. Gurcharan Singh Bal and Mr. Bhupinder Singh Somal, all advocates.

The investigators have come across strong evidence to suggest that the police took Prof. Rajinderpal Singh in custody from Sector 15, Chandigarh at about noon on January 25, 1989. He usually lived in Jugiana village of Ludhiana district. He was Assistant Professor of Horticulture at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana. Prof. Rajinderpal Singh Gill belonged to a political family and was associated with the United Akali Dal led by Baba Joginder Singh as a member of Advisory Board. He came to Chandi¬garh to meet one of his relations at Punjab University.

Prof. Rajinderpal Singh travelled by a tractor (PBR 8051) to Chandigarh. The arrest of Prof. Rajinderpal Singh was made by a police party from Ludhiana that included Shri Sant Kumar, SHO, Payal police station. The tractor was driven to Sadar police station, Ludhiana, by a police constable. This tractor was seen by a few witnesses in the Sadar Police station. These witnesses included Mr. Major Singh Mangat, advocate, who had gone to the police station to report the loss of his pistol. Mr. Mangat saw the tractor at about 10:00 PM, on January 26, 1989. He heard the SHO, Kanwar¬jit Singh of the Sadar police station, Ludhiana, reprimanding his juniors why they brought the tractor to the police station when the order was that it should be taken to Ladhowal near Ludhiana. This place is very close to the alleged place of encounter that, according to the police, took place at 11:55 PM, on January 26, 1989.

Prof. Rajinderpal Singh was brought to the Crime Investigating Agency (CIA) Staff head office at Ludhiana at about 10:30 PM, on January 25, along with others. Mr. Harpreet Singh, a close relation of Mr. Surjan Singh Thekedar, a senior Akali Leader, was also at the CIA staff head office when he saw the professor at about 9:00 AM, on January 26.

Prof. Rajinderpal Singh was taken to the "encounter" site along with Devinderpaul Singh of Malikpur Garibdas, Ropar district, and Prabhjit Singh of Chandigarh. All three of them were arrested from Chandigarh. They were shot dead in cold blood.

The police maintain that the encounter was genuine while the widow of the professor, Rajinder Kaur, in an affidavit filed in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Shri M. M. Aggarwal, af¬firmed that the police arrested him at Chandigarh at noon on January 25.

Considering all these facts and circumstances the IHRO team believes that Prof. Rajinderpal Singh was killed in a fake encounter by the Ludhiana Police.

The Professor's wife, had earlier on January 27 in a telegram to the Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court brought to the court's attention that she was detained by the Focal Point Po¬lice, Ludhiana, and that the then SP (Detective), Surjit Singh had threatened her that her husband would be eliminated in an "encounter."

One reason given by Mrs. Rajinder Kaur for the police annoyance was that they arranged the marriage of the sister of Charanjit Singh Channi with Rajinder Kaur's brother's son. For this reason the police suspected that the couple harboured Cha¬ranjit Singh Channi. The police also suspect Channi's hand in the attack on Akali leader Jagdev Singh Talwandi.

It has come to the IHRO's notice that an alternative took place between the Professor and the SSP Ludhiana while the former was in police custody. There was no solid evidence to support this allegation.

The IHRO calls upon the Government to institute a judicial en¬quiry into Prof. Rajinderpal Singh's murder. It also appeals to international human rights organisations to press the demand. The IHRO strongly deplores the fact the Prof. Rajinderpal Singh had been eliminated for his political views and alignments in the misplaced belief that such tactics could strengthen Akali Dal to restore normally in Punjab.