Dec 27, 2006
In the last few days we have witnessed Indian politics and police corruption at its worst. With the Panjab Assembly elections fast approaching dirty politics and dishonest police officers have once again been exposed.
Parmjit Singh a UK citizen was arrested on the 23 December 2006 and is one of three innocent victims who has revealed through his treatment the level of police corruption and brutality. He is the latest innocent victim of abuse of political power and police torture carried out at the behest of political pay masters worried about their future.
The three Sikhs being held are Parmjit Singh, Amolak Singh and Jasvinder Singh. The three victims have committed no crime and are being held on fabricated charges of processing explosives. All three Sikhs had their articles of faith removed, were stripped naked and tortured. It is clear the police have been using torture to coerce the three Sikhs to sign confessional statements under duress.
On the 24 December 2006 all three Sikhs were presented in court by the police, the police failed in presenting the Sikhs within the allocated 24 hour limit to get police remand and the judge questioned why due process had not been followed. The police applied for a 14 day police remand, but the judge only granted remand for four days until the 28 December 2006. Eye witnesses who were present in court said it was clear to see the deterioration in health of the Sikhs and that they had undoubtedly been tortured.
Initially the Punjab Police denied that they had detained Paramjit Singh but later admitted that they had. The British Embassy wished to speak to Paramjit Singh, but have to date been denied access to him. On the 25 December 2006 a representative from the British Consulate was refused a visit to meet and see Parmjit Singh. The Sikhs have been denied basic rights. Amolak Singh suffers from blood pressure and has been refused his medicine, Parmjit Singh is an allergy sufferer who has also been refused his medication.
For Parmjit Singh this is the repeat of a nightmare. He was a victim before, when he was imprisoned in India for 3 months, but was subsequently cleared of all charges that were shown to be false.
The media has already highlighted glaring deficiencies in the police claims. For example, the Indian Express reported that that the police stated they found explosives from a mound of hay near Parmjit Singh's native village of Gakhal near Jalandhar. But a visit to Gakhal revealed a different reality. None of the villagers, including Sarpanch Surinder Singh, were aware of any police operation in the area. Various other villagers who work opposite where the police claim to have found explosives corroborated that no police had come to dig up arms and explosives.
A spokesman for Khalsa Human Rights said: 'It is clear the charges have been fabricated due to political reasons and given the lack of evidence are trying to obtain confessional statements through torture. All three Sikhs are innocent and should be released without further delay.
Harjinder Singh
Khalsa Human Rights
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