Pressure mounts on Shiromani Akali Dal leadership and candidates Darbara Singh Guru and Charanjit Singh Atwal as the Punjab and Haryana High Court has ordered the Home Secretary of the Punjab government to furnish the Part II of the Justice Gurnam Singh Commission Report to the families of Sikh youth killed in Nakodar in 1986 and the Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has announced a fresh look into the indiscriminate firing by the police. 

After 33 years, Baldev Singh –father of Ravinder Singh Littran heaved a small sigh of relief as the Punjab and Haryana High Court has ordered the Home Department of the Punjab government to make available Part II of the Justice Gurnam Singh Commission Report into the killings of four Sikh youth in the infamous Nakodar firing case of February 1986, during the third preliminary hearing of the case today.

After doggedly pursuing the case over the last three decades, Baldev Singh, who saw his son’s body burn in front of him, without him getting the opportunity to see the body has not relented for a single day since then. None of the four families could have a  last glimpse of their dear ones.

 Speaking to WSN on the phone, Baldev Singh said, “I see a glimmer of hope. I will not rest till justice is done and there is proper closure to our agony of the last 33 years.”

33 years ago, four Sikh youth protestors –Ravinder Singh Littran, Baldhir Singh Ramgarh, Jhilman Singh Gorsian and Harminder Singh Chaluper were killed in Nakodar on 4 February 1986.

Advocate Hari Chand Arora has informed that Justice Mahabir Singh Sindhu has ordered the Home Secretary of the government of Punjab to make available Part II of the Justice Gurnam Singh Commission Report, containing annexures, articles and documents relating to the case, to the petitioner after charging the requisite fees.

The main Justice Gurnam Singh Commission Report, which was being sought for the last three decades, suddenly came in the open when in the last session of the Punjab Assembly, the Speaker informed the house that the report was already tabled way back in 2001.

I see a glimmer of hope. I will not rest till justice is done and there is proper closure to our agony of the last 33 years.”

Baldev Singh, father of martyr Ravinder Singh Littran

In his plea to the court, advocate Arora informed Justice Mahabir Singh that as directed by the court, he and his client had made all efforts through the Punjab Vidhan Sabha and through a RTI application to the Home Department to get a copy of Part II of the Justice Gurnam Singh Commission Report, but to no avail and hence sought a direction by the Court to the Home Department.

Advocate Arora has further informed that the order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, during the course of the third preliminary hearing of the case, directs the Home Secretary to take up the matter seriously and in case the documents are not made available till the next date of 11 July 2019, then the Home Secretary has been asked to appear in person before the court.

 

The case poses more problem for the Shiromani Akali Dal and its candidates –former deputy commissioner and principal Secretary Darbara Singh Guru and former Punjab Assembly speaker octogenarian Charanjit Singh Atwal, as the Punjab Chief Minister –Captain Amarinder Singh, speaking to a section of the media has said that “this case has come to our notice and a fresh inquiry will be held and the guilty punished.”

The Shiromani Akali Dal candidate from Fatehgarh Sahib constituency is finding it hard to satisfy the media and his constituents about his role in the Nakodar police firing which led to the killing of four Sikh youth following an incident of sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib in Nakodar, where he was the Deputy Commissioner and Baldev Singh’s petition alleges that he conspired with the police through acts of omission and commission resulting in the extrajudicial killing of the four Sikh youth.

Even the Shiromani Akali Dal candidate from Jalandhar –former speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal is in the dock as it was during his tenure as speaker, the Justice Gurnam Singh Commission Report was tabled in the Punjab Assembly on 5 March 2001, without an Action Taken Report and without any discussion by members of the House.

Only under pressure of the Sikh Sangat, aware constituents and the media, both Darbara Singh Guru and Charanjit Singh Atwal have moved from their initial denial mode to an explanatory mode citing their innocence. Nemesis is definitely catching up.

Human rights defenders have stepped in and launched an aggressive social media campaign against Darbara Singh Guru, especially in Fatehgarh Sahib Constituency.  In the midst of the elections, religious events are being organised to recall this case, pay homage to the martyrs and instil in the minds of the voters the role of the above two candidates, with an appeal not to vote for them. Former Jathedar Akal Takht  Bhai Ranjit Singh has openly come out urging people not to vote for these candidates and all Badal Dal candidates. Dal Khalsa President Harpal Singh Cheema, whose village falls in Fatehgarh Sahib, speaking at a function in Doraha, organised to pay tributes to the four martyrs of Nakodar, said, “Martyrs cannot be forgotten. The least we can do is not to vote for those who are responsible for the killings of the Sikh youth at Nakodar in 1986.”  Social media activist Sarabjit Singh Ghuman said, “The fight for justice must go on.”

An impromptu group Saka Nakodar Justice Committee is running a sustained campaign of creating awareness about the case and appealing to voters not to vote for these two candidates.

The family of Ravinder Singh Littran remains steadfast in its pursuit of justice.  WSN stands rock solid with the families of the four Sikh youth martyrs in this journey.