According to Veer Singh’s family, their son was arrested and taken into custody for questioning by Inspector Rajesh Sunehi and 20 others on the afternoon of the 8th. The family claimed that they received no news of his whereabouts until the morning of the 9th when an unknown individual named ‘Mangat Singh’ dropped Veer Singh’s corpse off at the Barnala civil hospital.

 Responding to the family’s allegations that Veer Singh was tortured and killed in police custody, Inspector Sunehi plead ignorance. According to the police, the 17 year old youth was taken to a railway station and released the same night of his arrest and suspicious death.

 The court appointed magistrate, Jaswant Rai has since taken statements from all parties involved and said that appropriate action would be taken once results from the postmortem report are made public.

 The Punjab Police, notorious for it’s human rights violations, was responsible for using brutal methods to crush the Sikh Independence Movement in the 80’s and early 90’s. According to Amnesty International, “thousands of ‘disappearances‘ or extrajudicial executions were allegedly carried out by the police as part of a deliberate policy to eliminate armed opposition groups as well as their supporters.” Despite the end of militancy, extrajudicial executions and disappearances have not stopped in Punjab. The examples of Shaminder Singh Shera and Sohan Singh who were tortured and killed in police custody in 2011 are ample evidence of this fact.

 Reacting to the allegations of custodial murder, Moninder Singh, spokesperson of the CSC, demanded that an independent investigation take place to apprehend Veer Singh’s murderers and punish them accordingly. He went on to say that, “corruption, a lack of accountability, and discriminatory policies and tendencies against minorities breed a culture of impunity within India’s security forces. It is this culture that encourages police officers to torture and kill innocent people.”

source url: http://www.sikhsiyasat.net/?p=2845

Date: September 06, 2011;

This is full version of Video CD, released by Shiromani Akali Dal (Panch Pardhani). It aims at bringing the misdeeds of Badal regime in Shirmomani Gurudwara Prabhandhak Committee to the knowledge of Sikh masses.

This video is based on documentary evidence and eye-witnesses’ reports.

The VCD also sets forth the agenda of Joint Morcha formed by various political and Panthic bodies to contest general elections of SGPC, to be held on September 18, 2011.

The production work of this VCD is carried by activists of Youth Akali Dal (Panch Pardhani) and staff of Sikh Siyasat Network.

We are thankful to Sirdar Raghbir Singh Rajasansi, (Shiromani Akali Dal, 1920), Bhai Kulbir Singh Barapind (Panch, SAD, Panch Pardhani) and Bhai Harpal Singh Cheema (Secretary, SAD, Panch Pardhani) for sharing their views and tendering valuable information.

We are also obliged to Sirdar Sewak Singh (former President of Sikh Students Federation) and SSF President Parmjeet Singh Gazi, for their valuable advise, suggestions and guidance.

–
Youth Akali Dal (Panch Pardhani), and
Sikh Siyasat Network

This is the recording of resolutions read by Bhai Surinderpal Singh Tharua during the convention.