Chandigarh, Punjab (KP) - The case of militant turned police informer of Sukhwinder Sukhi, who was declared dead in an encounter with the police, has triggered great tensions within the state of Punjab. Much of its populace was infuriated when it learned that Sukhi was living a normal comfortable life in Jalandhar along with his family.
Whereas the people of Punjab were already reeling over the news of Sukhi, the climate became even tenser as similar cases started being discovered in the state. It was only after the press statements of D.G.P. Virk and K.P. Gill that people learned that besides Sukhi, over a hundred such police informants were roaming about freely in Punjab and were working for the police.
The recent developments and discoveries pertaining to false police encounters and rehabilitation of former militants led many concerned organizations and individuals to appeal to the Punjab Government to allow public scrutiny of lists of such police cats who were still active and working for the Punjab Police. Noting such a response from the public, Sukhwinder Sukhi, along with two other ‘former militants’, Balkar and Kewal S. have filed petitions with the Punjab and Haryana High Courts seeking orders to prevent the publication of any such lists. According to the petitioners, an appeal was being filed "in the interest of the common public".
The plea to the Punjab court mentions that Sukhi and others were victimized by politicians, especially naming the former Chief Minister Parkash Badal, who had personal and political loathing towards Congress party members. The petition further requests official action be taken against officers of the State Government who leaked sensitive information about him and others. Interestingly, Sukhi has also asked that the court pass orders banning newspapers and news channels from publicizing any news which further agitate the public.
Sukhi also shed light on the mystery of the pictures in which he was shown as dead. He asserted that the whole event of him being declared dead was managed by the State. The pictures showing him dead were created in order to keep terrorist groups from seeking his release.
A former appeal was also filed by the World Human Rights Protection Council (WHRPC) seeking legal recourse against police officers who were involved in the rehabilitation scheme such as in the case of Sukhi. It also sought an end to such Police methods. Chairman of the Council, Mr. Ranjan Lakhanpal, also demanded that the Punjab Police publicly releases the names of all those people who had been declared dead. The court will be hearing this appeal on April 6th and most likely the petition of Sukhi and others will also be heard on the same day.
