Latest news with #JusticeGurnamSinghCommission
Time of India
4 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Family of Nakodar firing victim alleges govt ‘inaction', distraction from justice
Jalandhar: After finance minister Harpal Cheema on Tuesday raised the issue of the Justice Gurnam Singh Commission report on the incidents of sacrilege and police firing in Nakodar in 1986, and its action taken part missing from the assembly record, the family of one of the victims alleged that the issue was being used to distract from the real matter at hand while the AAP govt actively blocked efforts to bring the perpetrators of the Nakodar massacre to justice. During the assembly session, speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan announced the formation of a committee to find the missing report . In a statement issued on Wednesday, Baldev Singh, whose son Ravinder Singh of village Litran near Nakodar was one of the four Sikh youths killed in police firing, said that the 1986 Nakodar sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib, police firing, and the Justice Gurnam Singh Commission report — along with its missing parts — were not new issues, and both Cheema and Sandhwan actively raised these when they were in opposition. He said that AAP MLAs HS Phoolka and Kanwar Sandhu were the first to raise the issue strongly in the Punjab assembly, and later Cheema and Sandhwan also raised these issues during their time in opposition. "However, after being in power for over three and a half years, they are now using this issue cynically to distract from the real matter at hand. Since taking office, they have actively blocked efforts to bring the perpetrators of the Nakodar massacre to justice," said Baldev Singh. "We have sent seven letters to chief minister Bhagwant Mann, copies of which were also sent to finance minister Cheema and Speaker Sandhwan. Instead of addressing these concerns, they have shielded the perpetrators of the Nakodar police killings," he alleged. Baldev Singh also alleged that his request to Speaker Sandhwan on Sep 29, 2022, was later manipulated by the state's attorney's office to "mislead" the high court, resulting in the disposal of both of his petitions on Oct 7, 2023, even as these petitions were only possible because of AAP's initial support. "Despite these repeated efforts, we have yet to receive any tangible response or action on our grievances. This continued inaction has only compounded the pain and anguish of the victims' families, who have been waiting for almost forty years for justice and accountability. The AAP govt has not taken a single concrete step to deliver justice in the 1986 Nakodar police firing, the 2015 Bargari case, or the sacrilege cases of Guru Granth Sahib," he said. "If there is genuine commitment to justice, order a time-bound CBI inquiry into the 1986 Nakodar killings, the illegal cremation of four unarmed Sikh youths, and the disappearance of Part Two of the judicial report. File charges and arrest the police officials responsible for these atrocities. Without accountability, there is no closure. To this day, not a single perpetrator of Nakodar or Bargari has been brought to justice," he added.
Indian Express
4 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Panel formed to find missing part of Justice Gurnam Commission report
Punjab Vidhan Sabha Speaker Kultar Sandhwan on Tuesday announced the formation of a committee to find the missing action taken report of the Justice Gurnam Singh Commission on the 1986 Nakodar sacrilege and police firing incidents. Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema brought to the Punjab Assembly's attention the Justice Gurnam Singh Commission Report, a copy of which is with the Assembly, but 'the action taken part mysteriously missing'. He urged Sandhwan to form a committee to find the report. Later, the Speaker announced the formation of a committee to find the report. Participating in the discussion on the Punjab Prevention of Crime Against Religious Scriptures Bill, 2025, in the Assembly, Cheema said, 'The missing part of the Justice Gurnam Singh Commission report will enable the people of Punjab to ascertain the truth behind the 1986 incidents, understanding actions of those involved at that time, and see the reality of their descendants' current actions.' Cheema said, 'Historically, whenever the SAD-led government or a religiously aligned government came to power in Punjab, there were attempts, either directly or through conspirators, to desecrate the Guru Granth Sahib to destabilise the state.' The minister cited an incident of February 2, 1986, during the SAD tenure, when five sacred 'Birs' were set ablaze at Gurdwara Sahib Guru Arjan Dev in Nakodar. Cheema recounted the events of February 4, 1986, stating, 'Four youths, Ravinder Singh Littran, Baldhir Singh Ramgarh, Jhirmal Singh Gursiana, and Harminder Singh, were shot dead while peacefully protesting, mirroring the peaceful demonstrations seen at Bargari.' The finance minister pointed out that during these incidents, 'the state was governed by the ASD, with Surjit Singh Barnala as the chief minister, Captain Kanwaljit Singh as the home minister, and Sukhjinder Singh Khaira, father of Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira as the education minister,' and expressed regret that 'not a single action or First Information Report (FIR) was filed by the then government'. Cheema alleged that the then minister Sukhjinder Singh had opposed the building of a gate in the name of one of the victims. However, heated exchanges ensued between Cheema and Sukhpal Singh Khaira after the minister took Khaira's father's name. Khaira said the minister was misleading the House. Amid the verbal duel between Cheema and Khaira, the Speaker asked the Congress MLA not to disrupt the House's proceedings and warned him of being named for indiscipline. Khaira dared Cheema to have an open debate with him over the issue outside. LoP Partap Singh Bajwa intervened in the matter and said, 'Let us not go personal.'
