Human Rights Activist Paramjit Kaur Khalra Seeks People's Commission Amid 'Satluj' Row
New Delhi: Paramjit Kaur Khalra, human rights activist and founder of Khalra Mission Organisation, who is also the wife of late human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, has requested Akal Takht officiating jathedar Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargaj to form a "people's commission" to determine the actual number of people who disappeared, were killed in alleged fake encounters by the Punjab Police or remained unidentified in the state through the 1980s and 1990s.
Paramjit made the appeal in a Punjabi-language post on X on Monday (July 13), a day ahead of a special ardas (prayer service) called by the jathedar at Harike Pattan on the banks of the Satluj river, where Jaswant's body is believed to have been disposed of after his abduction and murder in 1995.
ਵਾਹਿਗੁਰੂ ਜੀ ਕਾ ਖਾਲਸਾ ਵਾਹਿਗੁਰੂ ਜੀ ਕਿ ਫਤਿਹ ।
ਪੰਜਾਬ 14 ਜੁਲਾਈ 2026 ਦਿਨ ਮੰਗਲਵਾਰ ਨੂੰ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਅਕਾਲ ਤਖਤ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਦੇ ਜਥੇਦਾਰ ਦੇ ਸੱਦੇ 'ਤੇ ਹਰੀਕੇ ਪੱਤਣ (ਜਿੱਥੇ ਲਾਵਾਰਿਸ ਕਰਕੇ ਰੋੜੀਆਂ ਲਾਸ਼ਾਂ) ਵਿਖੇ ਅਰਦਾਸ ਸਮਾਗਮ ਵਿਚ ਇਕੱਠੇ ਹੋਣ ਦੀ ਤਿਆਰੀ ਕਰ ਰਿਹਾ ਹੈ|
ਮੈਂ ਪੰਜਾਬ, ਸਮੁੱਚੇ ਸਿੱਖ ਪੰਥ ਅਤੇ ਦੁਨੀਆਂ ਭਰ ਦੇ ਲੋਕ, ਜੋ ਮਨੁੱਖੀ…— Paramjit Kaur Khalra (@KaurKhalra) July 13, 2026
Her statement linked her demand to a longer, unresolved history of state violence in Punjab, invoking the June 1984 Operation Bluestar military action at the Golden Temple and the anti-Sikh violence that followed in November that year after the assassination of former prime minister Indira Gandhi.
"The unidentified bodies, torture and thousands of fake police encounters in the years that followed still demand accountability and justice today," she said. Paramjit added that even though the atrocities and subsequent disappearances occurred during Congress' tenure, every government since has failed to deliver justice to the victims.
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Further, she accused the Shiromani Akali Dal governments of not only failing to hold guilty officers accountable, but also of actively rewarding them with "VIP facilities, legal aid and high positions," while the victims' families faced hardship. Her statement explicitly named former officers Sumedh Saini, Izhar Alam, Darbara Singh Guru, Paramjit Singh Umarangal and Mohammad Mustafa.
Criticism the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab, Paramjit alleged that it has helped accused police personnel evade justice, including officers convicted in her husband's murder: deputy superintendent of police Jaspal Singh, sub-inspector Jasbir Singh and Satnam Singh.
She also referred to the allegations of targeted killings on foreign soil against the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Union government, claims which she said the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has substantiated.
Beyond the commission, Paramjit demanded that victims whose identities were established through her husband's investigative work be given a rightful place in the Central Sikh Museum in Amritsar and that the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) provide financial aid to the affected families.
Asserting that no political party or individual can be held above accountability, she called for social boycott and the revocation of any state honours bestowed upon those responsible for concealment or denial of justice.
Also read: Satluj Was Taken Down From OTT, But Punjabis Have Brought It to Their Villages And Beyond
"Those who carried out the genocide of innocents, denied justice, hid the truth of the Sikh genocide, or supported violations of human rights must be held accountable in the people's court; all their official honors must be revoked, and they must face social boycott," Paramjit wrote.
"Our third Ghallughara (massacre) should not be used to grind political bread but rather to demand accountability from the entire system – this alone will be a true tribute to the unidentified bodies and Sardar Jaswant Singh Khalra," she added.
Here statement comes amid controversy over the abrupt removal of Staluj, a movie based on Jaswant Khalra's life and efforts, from the OTT platform Zee5. The film was taken down within 48 hours of its release on July 3, after extended certification troubles, reportedly on security grounds. However, no official explanation was issued.
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