From: hrcoord@igc.apc.org (Human Rights Coordinator)
Newsgroups: soc.rights.human
Subject: AI UA397/92 INDIA Disappearance
Date: 20 Dec 92 02:31:00 GMT
Nf-ID: #N:cdp:1476700889:000:3970
Nf-From: cdp.UUCP!hrcoord    Dec 19 18:31:00 1992


/* Written  4:52 pm  Dec 17, 1992 by gn:rmitchellai in igc:ai.uan */
/* ---------- "AI UA397/92 INDIA Disappearance" ---------- */
EXTERNAL (for general distribution) AI Index: ASA 20/60/92 
                                    Distr: UA/SC 
 
UA 397/92  Fear of "Disappearance"  17 December 1992
 
INDIA:     Jagwinder Singh, 24, lawyer
 
Amnesty International has recently learnt that Jagwinder Singh was
arrested on the 25 September 1992 and is concerned that he may have
"disappeared".  According to reports received, three uniformed
policemen entered Jagwinder Singh's house on 25 September 1992 at
around 6.30 am and informed him that they were Central Investigation
Bureau staff and that the Senior Superintendent of Police, Kapurthala,
wanted to consult him over a legal matter. He was taken from the
house and has not been seen since. His family has signed affidavits
stating that they witnessed the police taking Jagwinder Singh away
from his house in Mahalla Laxmi Nagar, Kapurthala. 
 
  Shortly afterwards, the Kapurthala and Jalandhar District Bar
Associations went on strike in protest against the arrest of Jagwinder
Singh. A delegation of lawyers visited the Senior Superintendent of
Police, Kapurthala, who, denied any knowledge of Jagwinder Singh's
arrest. Since then a series of protests by lawyers in Punjab have taken
place and several reports have appeared in the local and national
press. The Chief Minister, the Chief Secretary and the Finance
Minister of Punjab state have reportedly assured lawyers that the
whereabouts of Jagwinder Singh will be disclosed but to date his
whereabouts remain unknown. Jagwinder Singh is a 24 year-old lawyer
from the District Courts in Kapurthala, Punjab.
 
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
 
Amnesty International regularly receives reports of torture,
"disappearances" and unacknowledged detention of people arrested in
Punjab on suspicion of being members or sympathizers of one of the
Sikh opposition groups advocating a separate Sikh state, "Khalistan". In
some cases the detainees are eventually found to have died in custody,
while others are found to have been deliberately killed in custody
although official reports say they died in "encounters" with the police.
Even though legal safeguards against torture and unacknowledged
detention exist in India's ordinary criminal law and procedural code,
they are often not adhered to. In addition, special legislation grants the
security forces arbitrary powers to arrest and detain people without
ordinary legal safeguards and without charge or trial and prisoners are
held in illegal detention for weeks and sometimes months. 
 
 RECOMMENDED ACTION:  Please send telegrams/faxes and
airmail letters in English or your own language:
 
- expressing concern at the "disappearance" of Jagwinder Singh who
was reportedly taken away from his house in Kapurthala by policemen
on 26 September 1992;
 
- urging that an immediate investigation be conducted by an
independent authority into his reported "disappearance" and that, if it
is established that he is indeed in custody, he be released forthwith, or
that he be tried under ordinary procedures of criminal law if there is
specific evidence for criminal charges.
 
APPEALS TO:
 
Beant Singh              [Salutation: Dear Chief Minister]
Chief Minister of Punjab
Office of the Chief Minister
Chandigarh
Punjab
India
Telegrams: Chief Minister of Punjab, Chandigarh, Punjab, India
 
Surendra Nath             [Salutation: Dear Governor]
Governor of Punjab
Office of the Governor
Chandigarh
Punjab
India
Telegrams: Governor of Punjab, Chandigarh, Punjab, India
Faxes:     +91 172 540 647
 
PLEASE SEND COPIES OF YOUR APPEALS TO:
 
Mr A.S Chatha
Chief Secretary of Punjab
Office of the Chief Secretary
Chandigarh
Punjab
India
 
and to the diplomatic representative in your country - please see the
responses to this topic for details.
 
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.  Please do not send
appeals after January 28 1993.
Newsgroups: soc.rights.human