Jalandhar: In a major relief to the kin of those killed in the Nakodar police firing of 1986 – 'Saka Nakodar' in Punjabi – the Punjab and Haryana high court on Thursday, September 22, issued a notice to the Punjab government and others on the 'missing' part (Part-II) of the Justice Gurnam Singh Commission Inquiry Report.

The inquiry commission was constituted by the then Punjab government on February 13, 1986 to probe into the killing of four Sikh youth in the police firing following a sacrilege incident at a gurdwara in Nakodar sub-division of Jalandhar district on February 4, 1986.

While the first part of the inquiry report was tabled in the Punjab Assembly on March 5, 2001, when  Parkash Singh Badal was the chief minister, the second part of the report went missing.

It was the second part of the Commission report dated October 31, 1986 – which contained significant evidence, exhibit files, sworn statements of police officials, administrative authorities and witnesses – that were reported as missing from the Punjab government’s custody.

A petition regarding the missing second part of the Commission report was filed by Baldev Singh, the father of one of the victims Ravinder Singh on August 26, 2021, seeking the setting up of an SIT to investigate the missing part of the report from the custody of the Punjab government.

In its hearing on Thursday, September 22, Justice Namit Kumar issued notice to the respondents i.e. state government and others in the second petition.

Also read: Families of 1986 Saka Nakodar Police Killings Are Still Waiting for Justice

As court proceedings were affected due to the COVID-19 pandemic, major relief to victim families in the case came on Thursday, September 22 after 36 long years since the incident took place.

Notably, the Nakodar police firing case of 1986 is also known as 'Saka Nakodar', which means a historic incident or tragedy involving rare valour or sacrifice in Punjabi parlance.

Saka Nakodar

On February 2, 1986, five ‘saroops’ (physical copies of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib) were found desecrated by miscreants at Gurdwara Arjan Sahib, Mohalla Guru Nanak Pura, Nakodar, Jalandhar.

On February 4, 1986, four Sikh youth – namely Ravinder Singh, Harminder Singh, Baldhir Singh and Jhilman Singh – were peacefully marching towards the gurdwara to collect the desecrated ‘saroops’ of the holy book, when they were brutally killed by the police.

Among the four victims, Ravinder Singh was shot dead on the spot while Baldhir and Jhilman were gunned down together in a cattle shed. Harminder, who was shot in his mouth point blank, died on the intervening night of February 4-5. Harminder was declared brought dead at Jalandhar Civil Hospital.

Against all norms, the post-mortem of the four youth was done in the dead of night on February 4-5, 1986, and the families were not even allowed to witness the cremations.

A helpless Baldev Singh, who was then a government bank employee spent the night of February 4-5 in harsh cold running from police station to hospital and from hospital to cremation ground but nobody helped him.

Even though Baldev Singh had identified the bodies, the police did not allow him to attend the cremation of his son and that of the three other youths. Baldev Singh followed the police vehicle on a scooter, which was heading to Jalandhar, but by the time he reached, they had lit the pyre by putting kerosene on all bodies together at a cremation ground in Nakodar.

Involvement of officials

When the tragedy took place, Izhar Alam was the SSP Jalandhar, Additional Deputy Commissioner Jalandhar Darbara Singh was the acting District Magistrate. Alam died in June 2021 while his wife Nisara F.Khatoon was the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) MLA from the Malerkotla assembly constituency. SAD had even fielded Darbara Singh Guru from Fatehgarh Sahib seat in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, but he lost.

Taking cognisance of the incident, the then Punjab chief minister Surjit Singh Barnala had ordered a judicial inquiry by a retired high court judge. The justice Gurnam Singh panel submitted its judicial report to the Punjab government on October 31, 1986, but it was neither tabled in the state assembly nor acted upon.

Notably, the case shot into the limelight after regular media coverage and follow-up by members of the Punjab Assembly. In February 2019, the then Punjab Assembly speaker Rana K.P. Singh had disclosed in the Assembly session that the report was placed in the state assembly without the Action Taken Report on March 5, 2001.

Also read: Two CMs, Much Controversy Later, Sacrilege Cases Are Still the Burning Issue of Punjab Politics

Baldev Singh and his son Harinder Singh shared that in 2001, when Parkash Singh Badal was the chief minister, the Gurnam Singh Commission report was available in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha Library.

"But, we were given only part I of the report. It was only when our legal counsel inquired that the Vidhan Sabha Library and Home Department indicated that part II of the report has gone missing. This is when another ordeal began for us," said Harinder Singh.

'A long-drawn struggle comes to an end': Families

The family members of the three victims namely – Jhilman Singh, Baldhir Singh and Harminder Singh – are no more.

US-based Baldev Singh, the father of Ravinder Singh, who hails from Litran village in Jalandhar district, has been single-handedly fighting the case and came to the court hearing in Punjab.

Talking to The Wire, Baldev Singh, said that he felt a sense of relief when he got to know about the court’s order.

"I didn’t attend the court proceedings on Thursday. However, the moment I got to know about the court’s order from advocate H.C. Arora, I could not control my tears and thanked the almighty," he said.

In a choked voice, an emotional Baldev Singh said, "All these years, I was being victimised for no fault of mine. It has been a long and a lonely war, an ordeal, in which I faced many hindrances. There were people who did wrong to me but I never lost hope in the almighty. My prayers have borne fruit. Only my heart knows how difficult this journey has been but at least there is some positive development. I am waiting for the day when I will get justice. My faith in the judiciary has been rekindled, and I am hopeful that the AAP government will play its part positively," he added.

Baldev Singh especially mentioned the names of Justice Ajit Singh Bains, a renowned human rights activist who was also known as 'People’s Judge' and advocate H.C. Arora, who stood by him in the fight. "I can never return the favours they have done to me," he said.

Baldev Singh’s US-based son Harinder Singh also told The Wire over the phone that during the previous Congress government, opposition leaders from AAP- Harpal Singh Cheema and Kultar Singh Sandhwan had vociferously sought to make Gurnam Singh Commission report public and demanded justice in Saka Nakodar.

"Now that the AAP government is in power, they should set an example by providing speedy justice in this case. The duo should spearhead a campaign to provide us justice," he said.

On an emotional note, Harinder Singh said that it was important that this case got closure. "My father has been fighting a lone battle for 36 years. The guilty should be punished so that they can leave this world peacefully. My parents have endured a lot in these 36 years," he added.

Senior journalist and ex-MLA from AAP, Kanwar Sandhu, who had extensively covered the case in 1986 for The Tribune, Chandigarh termed it as an important development.

Sandhu shared the copies of his investigative reports of The Tribune with The Wire and said, "A judicial inquiry was presented in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha but no follow-up was done. The second part of the Justice Gurnam Singh Commission report was the important one, as it had all the records, affidavits and evidence. Without the second part of the report, no action could be taken.”

The senior journalist emphasised, "After 36 years, fresh evidence cannot be collected but whatever record exists, it should be probed thoroughly to provide justice to the victim families. The Punjab government should take this case seriously."

Tardy investigation in recent sacrilege cases

The investigation is still underway in the three sacrilege cases and subsequent police firing/killing of the recent past.

The 2015 Bargari sacrilege and Kotkapura police firing cases are under trial in a Faridkot district court, Punjab. Two anti-sacrilege protestors were killed in police firing in Kotkapura, Faridkot district in 2015 when the SAD-BJP government was in power.

In July this year, an SIT probing the Bargari sacrilege case blamed Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda. On the other hand, another SIT investigating the Kotkapura police firing case summoned SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal on September 15 as part of the probe into the killings. Badal was the deputy chief minister when the Bargari sacrilege case took place.

Similarly, a man was lynched in an alleged sacrilege case at Golden Temple, Amritsar, in December 2021. Though an SIT was formed in the case too, there has been no major lead so far.

Another alleged sacrilege and lynching which shook the nation was that of Lakhbir Singh (35) during the farmers' protest in October 2021. A Nihang group had taken responsibility. Four persons were arrested in this case, who had confessed before the court.

Note: An earlier version of this copy erroneously said the high court had ordered the state government to form an SIT to probe into the missing part of the inquiry report. However, the court only issued notices to the Punjab government and others without any specific directions on the formation of an SIT. 

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