Thirty-one years after a man was allegedly killed in an encounter during terrorism in Punjab, he has been found alive. At 70, Jagir Singh resurfaced after he was seen at a bhog ceremony at his native place Awan Lakha Singh village in Chogawan, Amritsar.
Now the focus has shifted to Jagir’s friend Daljit Singh who too had disappeared in 1992 and since then hasn’t been seen. Daljit’s father Kashmir Singh, a retired electricity department employee who belongs to the nearby Khiala Khurd village, Amritsar, says, “If Jagir is alive, who was shown killed in an encounter? And thus, I want to know the status of my son.” His worst fear, though he stops short of spelling it in words, “Was it his son Daljit who was killed?”
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Kashmir adds, “We have been running from pillar to post for the past 30 years but haven’t come to know about our son Daljit’s whereabouts.”
Asked, why he thinks Jagir’s resurfacing would throw some light on his son’s whereabouts, Kashmir responds with a bit of suspicion, “Both Jagir and Daljit were acquaintances. At that time, the police first tortured me and then they tortured my son. If Jagir who was shown as having died in an encounter is alive now I want to know who was shown as killed in that encounter which took place on December 29, 1992.”
He adds a few days later a news item appeared in a newspaper that said that Jagir and Daljit both died as a result of a crossfire while taking on the police. He adds, “If Jagir is alive, I am sure they would have killed someone. Who is that someone, is what I want to know?”
“I had three sons, two of them Baljit Singh, who was in the Indian Army, and Rajwant Singh, who drove his own cab, both died. While Baljit died due to high altitude illness, Rajwant died in a road accident. But we want to know the truth about Daljit,” Kashmir rues.
Kashmir adds, “Though I always knew something was amiss ever since the Punjab Police had declared Jagir dead. A few days after the Punjab Police claimed that he had died, I saw Jagir and even informed the police. A few years later, someone informed me that Jagir had been arrested in a drug smuggling case and was jailed. I had no way to confirm the news till I saw him at the bhog ceremony recently.” Jagir remained in jail for close to 19 years in a case of drug smuggling, says Kashmir.
What CBI says:
Sources in CBI say a case has been filed in the court claiming that the 1992 encounter was fake. More so, since Jagir Singh who was supposedly killed in that encounter is alive. “We are waiting for the directions of the court.”
Dharam Singh, the then SHO of Lopoke police station in Amritsar is the main accused in the case along with Tarsem Lal, Swaran Singh, and Avtar Singh. Swaran Singh and Avtar both died in the course of the trial. Dharam Singh is undergoing a life sentence along with two other policemen in a separate case of fake encounters. Kashmir says, “Dharam Singh is the main accused who not only tortured me but also my son Daljit in front of my eyes.”
