ing absconders."
These allegations against the Punjab Police are from Gurmail Kaur, a resident of village Kaunke Kalan under Ludhiana district.
After the investigation report of former Additional DGP of Punjab Police BP Tiwari which came out last week about Jathedar Kaunke, various questions have started to arise.
An inquiry report by the Punjab Police in 1999 not only questioned the police's claims about the arrest of Gurdev Singh Kaunke, but also busted the claim of the Ludhiana Rural Police (Police District Jagraon) that Gurdev Singh was in custody had escaped from custody.Neither the Punjab Government or the Punjab Police have issued any official statement regarding BP Tiwari's report. The report was made public at the initiative of a human rights organization.
Who was Gurdev singh kaunke ?
Gurdev Singh was born in 1949 at village Kaunke Kalan under Jagraon subdivision of Ludhiana district in Punjab, India. His father was Gurdial Singh and mother Chand Kaur. Gurdev Singh's grandfather, Jathedar Totha Singh was a companion of Baba Nand Singh of Nanaksar. At a young age, Singh took the vows of the Khalsa and became an initiated Sikh. After completing 6 levels of primary school, he enrolled into Damdami Taksal.
| Born | Gurdev Singh |
|---|---|
| Year | 1949 |
| Place | Kaunke Kalan, Ludhiana, Punjab, India |
| Died | 1 January 1993 (aged 43–44) |
| Place | Chuhar Chak, Moga, Punjab, India |
| Spouse | Gurmel Kaur |
| Children | 3 |
| Parents | Gurdial Singh (father) Chand Kaur (mother) |
became Jathedar of Akal Takth
A Sarbat Khalsa was called at Akal Takht in Amritsar on 26 January 1986. At the gathering, the delegation of Sarbat Khalsa announced Jasbir Singh Rode[nephew of bhindrawale] as the Jathedar of Akal Takht. Rode was imprisoned during his appointment; therefore, the delegation assigned Kaunke to serve as the acting Jathedar of Akal Takht he remain at position from 26 January 1986 – 1 January 1993.
Periods of tortures
After 1984, Jathedar Kaunke spent several long periods in illegal police custody, though he himself was never accused of any crime. Once in the summer of 1991 when Jathedar Kaunke had been illegally abducted by the Punjab Police, he was interrogated by SSP Sumedh Saini (later to appointed the DGP or Chief of Police in Punjab by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal), Saini blew cigarette smoke on Jathedar Kaunke's face, as he hung upside and without clothes from the ceiling of the police station. When Saini refused to stop blowing cigarette smoke even after being told several times, Jathedar Kaunke slapped him on his face. As a result he was brutally tortured by Saini. This was all witnessed by Pritam Singh, a resident of Kaunke village who used to bring food to Jathedar Kaunke during his imprisonment.
Last days of 1992
Recalling the last days of December 1992, Gurmail Kaur(wife of kaunke) says, "On December 20, my grandson died and the SHO(jagraon) arrested my husband on the same day."
She says, "The body was lying in the yard of the house and the head of the house was behind bars. I went to the Jagraon police station along with villagers. We told the police that the Jathedar ji should be sent for the funeral for couple of time. The policemen agreed to let us go."
She further says, "Then the same thing was happened which was in our mind during those days. The police raid came to our house again on December 25. Jathedar had gone to the Gurdwara Sahib of the village.police picked jathedar in the presence of 200 villagers. Police team lead by SHO Gurmeet singh brought him home and after a while the police took Jathedar with her for interogation ."
Gurmail Kaur says that the words spoken by her husband when he left the house, which was the last time the family heard them, still haunt her.
The government has responded to its last stake. Now the policemen will cross the boundaries, and you have to have unswerving trust in God.
ਸਰਕਾਰ ਆਪਣੇ ਆਖ਼ਰੀ ਦਾਅ 'ਤੇ ਉੱਤਰ ਆਈ ਹੈ। ਹੁਣ ਪੁਲਿਸ ਵਾਲੇ ਹੱਦਾਂ ਪਾਰ ਕਰਨਗੇ ਤੇ ਤੁਸੀਂ ਵਾਹਿਗੁਰੂ 'ਤੇ ਅਟੱਲ ਭਰੋਸਾ ਰੱਖਣਾ।
"I used to plead with the police to allow me to meet my husband, but no one would listen to me. They were all afraid of the ssp swaran singh ghotna. "
As Swaran Singh was the SSP of Police District Jagraon in 1992.
Gurmail Kaur said that one day a woman from village kaler went inside the Jagraon police station and she came out and told that the Jathedar's condition was not good.
She said, "That woman told me that Jathedar ji has suffered from a lot of injuries. He is in bad condition and needs a bandage and cushion . We immediately wrapped a bandage in a sheet and cushion and brought it to the police station. But once sympathic policemen return it to me..
His son was 15 years at that time
Hari Singh, son of Gurdev Singh Kaunke, said that on the day his father was taken away from home by the police, he was 15 years old. Hari Singh says in clear words, "He was my father, but the most important thing is that he was the leader of the Sikh community. Therefore, justice is not for us, but for the community."
"When my brother and I took steps to get justice together with our mother, we were caught by the police. Later, my brother was released but I was charged with bomb blast.
The reason for this was that we could not fight a legal battle for Jathedar Gurdev Singh Kaunke. It is different that I was release by court in the bomb blast case."
Commissions for justice
Parkash Singh Badal, the head of the then Akali-BJP government, set up a commission to investigate the case of Jathedar Gurdev Singh Kaunke.
Although the investigation report done by BP Tiwari was submitted to the then government in the year 1998 itself, it was not made public.In the BP Tiwari Commission inquiry, the finger was pointed at some police officials.
After this commission separate special investigation team was also formed by the government so that the reality can come out.
Despite all this, it has been shown that when Jathedar Gurdev Singh Kaunke was taken away in handcuffs(hathkari) by the police to recover the weapons, he "ran away".
Family members question why the police have finally been able to track them down after all these years.
ADGP B.P. Tiwari concluded his investigation report regarding the allegations of extrajudicial killing of Gurdev Singh Kaunke, "In all the circumstances, it is clear that the then SHO and now DSP Gurmeet Singh on December 25, 1992, Aresst Bhai Gurdev Singh from his house which did not return again.
As on 2 January 2024 Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) on Monday marked the death anniversary of Akal Takht former acting jathedar Gurdev Singh Kaunke
Reference links lick here..