Issue 44 Vol II, July 31, 2007

C O M M E N T

Law finally catches with the godman
‘Concrete’ evidence in rape and murder cases against dera Saccha Sauda chief

After five year long faltering, the Central Bureau of Investigation has finally put a challan in a special court at Ambala side by side  has placed in a sealed cover the tough evidence that the dera Saccha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was involved in rape and murder cases. He has to appear before the Ambala court on august 31 to hear charges and may be he is put behind bars till the case is heard and decided.

It all began in 2002 when the High Court took cognisance of a complaint regarding the alleged sexual exploitation of girls at the Dera Sacha Sauda, Sirsa, and ordered the CBI on September 24, 2002, to investigate the matter and submit its report with in six months. But as the practice with the investigation agencies and courts in India, it took five years to lay the charges. FIR No. 685 was lodged in a police station in Sirsa alleging firing at journalist Ram Chander Chattrapati by the people of the dera. Chattrapati died on November 22, 2002. Interesting the Haryana police did not record his statements. The CBI has now submitted three reports involving the dera chief under Section 120-B in the two murder cases and also under Section 376 of the IPC on the allegations of sadhvis. The CBI has mentioned as many as 147 witnesses against the dera chief in the three cases.

A petition was filed before the High Court alleging that the investigation was not fair. Another FIR was lodged at Sadar police station, Thanesar, alleging murder of one Ranjit Singh at the instance of the head of Dera Sacha Sauda.

Gurmeet’s troubles would increase with the trial of this case. It must sound pleasing to the pro Akali Sikhs who had been baying for his blood ever since robed himself as Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh guru. His three letters of apology have been rejected and he faces a criminal case in a Bhatinda court. His followers must be worried about this double whammy.

The CBI report contains “concrete” evidence against the dera chief who is named as an accused in all the three cases of rape and sexual harassment, murder of Sirsa based journalist Chattrapati and Ranjit Singh.

The evidence was clear, according to CBI officials in the Ranjit Singh murder case wherein a driver of the dera, Khatta Singh, had made a statement before a magistrate accusing him with engineering the murder.

Ranjit Singh was shot dead allegedly by his former dera colleagues as he was suspected of leaking an anonymous letter written to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and other authorities in which he alleged that the baba had raped his sister, a sadhvi. At seven persons were arrested following the murder, including dera pradhan Kishan Lal, dera manager Inder Sain, Constable Sabdil Singh, and Jasbir Singh.

The report mentions of forensic evidence that suggests Kishan Lal’s revolver was used in murdering Ranjit Singh. Moreover, 10 witnesses too have given statements before a magistrate blaming the dera for perpetuating the murder. There is also of the medical record of sadhvis, which allegedly proved that they had undergone abortions.

According to CBI it was an anonymous letter written by a dera sadhvi against Gurmeet which led to the murder of Ranjeet Singh and journalist Ram Chander Chattrapati by dera men.

it all began in May 2002 when copies of an anonymous three-page letter of Sadhvi, written in Hindi and addressed to the then Prime Minister  Vajpayee, demanding inquiry against the dera chief, accusing him of rape of sadhvis, was circulated in Sirsa.

Journalist Chhatrapati had published a story about the letter of the sadhvi in his evening newspaper Poora Sach on May 30.

Dera men suspected that Ranjeet Singh, who was a member of the dera committee, comprising 10 members, had circulated an anonymous letter of sadhvis. The reason was that Ranjeet Singh’s two daughters and sister stayed in the dera from 1999 to 2001. His sister was a teacher in the girls school of the dera. In 2001, Ranjeet Singh had taken out his sister and two daughters from the dera and thereafter visited the dera less often. He is said to have left the dera, as his sister alleged sexual exploitation in the dera, according to the details available from the CBI documents.

On June 16, 2002, Ranjeet Singh was called in the dera. The dera men asked Ranjeet Singh to apologise, but when he did not, they told him to be ready to die.

Ranjeet Singh also met the dera chief, who asked him to return to dera, but he denied the offer. On the same evening, the dera chief who was quite angry with Ranjeet Singh, ordered his confidant to eliminate Ranjeet Singh before he revealed anything further against the dera. Later Ranjeet Singh was shot dead by four youths while he was working in his fields at around 5 p.m. on July 10, 2002.

There was serious nature of allegations in the anonymous letter of the sadhvi against the dera chief, which had led the high court to order CBI inquiry into the case on September 24, 2002. The girl mentioned that she was a graduate and had been rendering services in the dera for the past five years. Besides, others girls in the dera, too, render service for 18 hours and face sexual exploitation. She added that the dera chief had been committing sexual intercourse after an interval of 25 to 30 days for the past three years with her. She learnt that the dera chief, too, had sexually exploited other girls. While in the case of Chattrapati, after publishing the news-report of Sadhvi’s letter, Chattrapati had started receiving threat calls from the dera men. Even some dera followers visited his newspaper office and threatened him with dire consequences. He was shot at outside his house by the two dera men on October 24, 2002. Chattrapati son, Anshul Chattrapati, and his cousin Mukesh Kamboj, in their statements recorded by the CBI recently, had accused the dera chief of the murder of Chhatrapati.

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Beant Singh killing: Death for Hawara, Balwant Singh
Three others get life imprisonment

ON July 31, 2007, almost after 12 years, a special court in Chandigarh,  ordered capital punishment for Jagtar Singh Hawara and Balwant Singh. Lakhwinder Singh, Gurmit Singh and Shamsher Singh were sentenced to life imprisonment. Naseeb Singh, held guilty under the Explosives Substances Act only, was sentenced to 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment with a fine of Rs 10,000. [He was released in the evening after his lawyers deposited the fine. He had already undergone imprisonment for 11 years during the period of the trial.] Another accused Navjot Singh, engineers was acquitted. But he has spent already over 11 years in jail for no fault. He has yet to be released as the CBI wanted him in another case, took him to Delhi. Perhaps they want to ward off any defamation and compensation case thereatened by his father.

Beant Singh the then chief minister who was successfully leading the fight against  the Khalistani separatists was killed by suicide bomber Dilawar Singh outside the  main entrance  of the high security of the secretariat, the head quarters of the Punjab and Haryana governments on august 31, 1995. Along with him blown to pieces were his security men and a doctor besides his old class fellow from his village, Kotli in Ludhiana district.

Mediapersons, convicts’ kin and Sikh radicals waited with bated breath outside the Burail Jail premises even as passions ran high and Khalsa slogans rent the air.

CBI counsel R.K. Handa later said: “Special Judge R.K. Sondhi has awarded death penalty to Jagtar Singh Hawara and Balwant Singh while the three convicts, Lakhwinder Singh, Gurmit Singh and Shamsher Singh, have been awarded life imprisonment and a fine of Rs 5,000 each has been imposed upon them. Naseeb Singh has been sentenced to 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs 10,000.”  There were tense scenes inside the court in Burail jail more chaos prevailed outside. The security arrangements were reminder of the days when Punjab was under the spell of militancy.

A battery of defence lawyers would now move the case to the Punjab and Haryana high court and then it need be to the Supreme Court. “We will explore all legal options and take the battle to the highest level. We must inform you that Balwant had refused to go in for appeal,” they declared.  Perhaps, another four years from now.

The Khalsa Action Committee announced that special functions would be held at the Golden Temple and the convicts’ native places on August 4. Also, Sikhs should shut down their business establishments on the day to protest against the order.

Earlier, before the verdict was delivered, the convicts’ kin gave a hot chase to Maninderjit Singh Bitta and hurled choicest abuses in chaste Punjabi on him, as they threw stones at his vehicle. Bitta was whisked away by his security men.

The four-volume order, running into 1,022 pages, has divided the convicts into two categories: First category and second category. The categorisation was done keeping in view the convicts’ role in planning and execution of the assassination.

“Firstly, those who formed the hardcore nucleus which took the decision to assassinate Beant Singh and masterminded and coordinated it and secondly, those who joined the conspiracy by inducement or instigation etc., whether through indoctrination or otherwise,” the judge ordered. Jagtar and Balwant were put in the first category while Lakhwinder, Gurmit and Shamsher formed the second category.

Special comments were made on Balwant who had confessed to his crime four years later. It has been mentioned that though Balwant had fairly and honestly confessed to the crime, the justification put forward by him “is found to be far from the truth of the alleged justification”. Ironically, defence lawyers, too, blamed Balwant for killing their case by confessing to his crime. In fact, Balwant Singh was not at all repentant and justified the killing of Beant Singh as he found him a tyrant and felt sad of the killing of 17 others. Before carrying out the operation successfully at Punjab Civil Secretariat on August 31, 1995, Dilawar Singh asks co-conspirator Balwant Singh to confess his hand in the operation, which he does less than four years after the assassination.

In between there was a sensational, daring and meticulous planned jail breaking in which Hawara and another associate fled. They were caught after months of chase. Hawara had, meanwhile married. There were several reasons for the delay in deciding the case that saw three special judges transferred. Two simultaneous trials took place. One was the main assassination trial, the other in which Paramjeet Singh Bheora is being tried as he was arrested four months after filing of the charge sheet. The prosecution insisted that the trial should be held separately. Due to a special provision under Section 268 of the CrPC, the trial was conducted in the jail as there was a serious security hazard. There were too may witnesses and Burail jailbreak in January 2004 stalled the trial for seven months.

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UK Expulsion Deepens Rift between Russia and West
Swaraj Singh

The British government’s decision to expel the four Russian diplomats because Russia refused to extradite Andrei Lugovoi, an ex-KGB agent accused of murdering former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko with radioactive polonium-210 in UK, has enraged Russia. The Russian government has refused the extradition request because the Russian constitution prevents extradition of Russian citizens. The Russian government has offered to try Lugovoi in Russia. However, the British government insists that Lugovoi should be extradited and face charges in Britain even though under the Council of European Convention on Extradition 1957, the Russians have the right to refuse the extradition of a citizen.

Boris Berezovsky, a London-based Russian dissident, has accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of ordering Mr. Litvinenko’s murder. Mr. Litvinenko died of exposure to radioactive Polonium-210 in London in November 2006. However, the Russian government has denied such charges. The Russian ambassador to UK, Yuri Fedotov, has strongly denied the charges that Russia backed the murder. He called these charges “preposterous.”

Russia has warned UK over the expulsion of the four Russian diplomats. Russia’s deputy foreign minister Alexander Grushko warned that this move could jeopardize cooperation on counter terrorism. This can complicate the security issues in Britain and the other western countries. The western countries, particularly UK and the USA, are facing a growing threat of terrorist attacks. The National Intelligence Estimate report, which was just released in the USA, said that Al Qaeda has become stronger and is more organized to launch attacks compared to last year. A terrorist attack in the USA is considered very likely.

Russia has also warned of other serious consequences. Russia has expressed growing frustration with the West. Russia feels that the West has adopted a very arrogant attitude toward Russia and has constantly humiliated and provoked Russia. Russia has also accused the West of following double standards and hypocrisy under the garb of democracy and human rights. Russia feels that the West wants to maintain its domination and a unipolar world. Russia seems determined to end the western domination; together with China wants to form another pole of power.

Russia has taken an increasingly defiant stand toward the western hegemony. The latest example is Russia’s stand on Kosovo. The western countries want Kosovo, a region with an Albanian population in majority, to separate from Serbia. The western countries want to introduce a resolution in the Security Council for the independence of Kosovo. However, Russia continues to oppose this move and may veto a resolution about Kosovo’s independence.

The West should take Russia’s warning seriously because the balance of power in the world is changing very fast. Russia can pull many strings. It can block the West from using the United Nations as a tool to advance its agenda. Russia can also sell sophisticated weapons to the West’s adversaries. Russia still has an edge in the field of conventional as well as nuclear weaponry. The West should give up its old ways and try to understand that the global situation has fundamentally changed. The West is facing a deepening crisis; provoking Russia is the last thing it needs.

[Sawraj Singh, MD F.I.C.S is  Chairman, Washington State Network for Human Rights (509) 962-3652/3910 Thrall Road, Ellensburg, WA 98926, USA]

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IMA chief seeks death sentence for fake drug makers

THE Indian Medical Association (IMA) has demanded death sentence to people involved in the manufacture and sale of counterfeit medicines and setting up of a special cell for detection of spurious drugs. It only speaks for the gravity of the situation where drug inspectors make big money being in league with the drug manufacturers and sellers. It is normal in India, the drug stones are either without licenses or if they have, matriculates employed by the drug stores, called chemists supply and dispense drugs. The man who is qualified sits at he counters only collecting money. Drug prices have shot be manifold during the past five years and this in turn has encouraged fake drug makers as there is big money.

"The government should treat the manufacturers of fake drugs as murderers. They should be given death sentence," IMA president Ajay Kumar said last fortnight. He said the fake drugs market in India was worth Rs.700 million and dealt in all kinds of medicines, including life saving drugs and vaccines. Kumar said that only seven out of the 37 drug testing laboratories across the country were functioning. He also accused some US companies of selling recycled prosthesis in India at cheaper prices.

According to the IMA chief, a few years ago the government had announced that manufacturing spurious drugs would be termed as an attempt at "mass murder" and invite death penalty. But he lamented that nothing had been done till now.

There has been no reaction from the government where drug lobbies work hard to influence decisions. Years back Hathi Committee had suggested major reforms. Its report was widely appreciated, inside and outside the parliament, but little action followed. The government is either in league with the drug manufactures or has no will to act. People and patients suffer not only due to spurious drugs, but high prices.

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Embassy of Oppression

Imperialists are in  Iraq and with no timetable to withdraw. A country being pushed daily to Stone Age, Iraq would soon have the largest ever embassy of the government of United States of America.

According to Center for American Progress Action Fund, the U.S. embassy in Iraq is set to open this fall. Projected to cost $592 million, the embassy will employ a staff of 4,000 people and assume operating costs totaling $1.2 billion a year. It will be a 104-acre complex -- the size of approximately 80 football fields -- and the largest U.S. embassy in the world. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice asked for an additional $50 million in May "to to add more structures" to the embassy. "It's all for them [the U.S], all of Iraq's resources, water, electricity, security," observed an Iraqi. "It's as if it's their country, and we are guests staying here."

In building this lavish symbol of occupation, the United States subsidized the company First Kuwaiti General Trading and Contracting (FK), a foreign contractor with egregious labor abuses. In a hearing before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee , several former managers and employees of FK reported on the conditions at the embassy, which ranged from "deplorable" living conditions to "kidnapping" of employees. Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) responded, "If what you are telling us is right, something appears to be seriously wrong with the management and oversight of this project."

According to progress@americanprogressaction.org, “this hearing confirmed the serious abuses that have been reported for nearly two years. Because of the U.S. refusal to employ Iraqis inside the Green Zone, "most of the laborers were from such countries as India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, the Philippines and Sierra Leone, the committee was told." FK lied to the workers, as "all of our tickets said we were going to Dubai," testified an embassy technician, "adding that an FK manager instructed him not to tell any of the Filipinos that they were going to Baghdad."

Rory Mayberry, a former subcontract employee of the FK, told the Committee yesterday: "Let me spell it out clearly: I believe these men were kidnapped by First Kuwaiti to work at the U.S. Embassy." One worker signed up be a "telephone repair man," and when workers discovered they were headed to Baghdad en route, an FK manager waved an MP5 gun in the air to "settle down" the employees. In Baghdad, workers toiled for 12 hours a day, seven days a week, and for as little as $10 a day, according to John Owens, former FK manager. If a construction worker needed new shoes or gloves, he was told "No, do with what you have" by FK managers, Owens testified. "When drinking water was scarce in the blistering heat, coolers were filled on the banks of the Tigris, a river rife with waterborne disease, sewage and sometimes floating bodies."

Center for American Progress Action Fund,, Washington based think tank  also claimed, “The planning for the embassy has been marked by a veil of secrecy by the State Department. In May, architectural firm Bergine Define Yaeger posted pictures of the embassy's design online, but two days later, the Department ordered the pictures removed, alleging a "security risk" for "our employees overseas." In his efforts to obtain information from the Department about the embassy, Waxman "said that for two weeks he was unable to get documents and cables he had requested. Some were delivered only Thursday in response to a subpoena, he said." But a Nov. 2005 State Department Inspector General (IG) report curiously found no evidence of abuse. The IG even alleged that employees "sought" overtime work. "No interviewee was aware of any worker who had been mistreated," the IG reiterated yesterday, dismissing the allegations.”  The Center for American Progress Action Fund evidently quoted several well established sources and newspaper reports to hammer this point.

” The United States is largely is responsible for FK's rise.”The company was a $35 million firm in early 2003 and now holds nearly $2 billion in contracts; largely U.S. funded and related to Iraq," reports CorpWatch. When originally contracted, FK's human rights abuses were well-documented, and the company had "little experience in projects on the scale envisioned for the embassy." Furthermore, there were several lower bidders than FK, including "one award-winning American company, Framaco, [which] offered to do the job for as much as $70 million less than First Kuwaiti." Why a Kuwaiti company? Some of have alleged that its work as a subcontractor under Halliburton may explain its rise in Iraq. Additionally, Kuwait was the only country bordering Iraq that staged U.S. troops before the invasion. President Bush ordered 100,000 troops to Kuwait to be "ready to conduct an operation" in February 2003; subsequently, some have alleged the contract may be a reward for Kuwait's pre-war support,” a recent  report Center for American Progress Action Fund said.

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