After the release of Diljit Dosanjh’s film ‘Sutlej’, Punjab’s human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalda has once again come into limelight. The film is inspired by his life and struggle. Meanwhile, an old video of his is also going viral on social media, in which he is seen talking about the situation in Punjab in the 1990s and the pain of the families of the missing people.
Jaswant Singh Khalda was also a bank worker and human rights activist. He is known for exposing cases related to alleged illegal killings and cremations without informing the families. Let us know who Jaswant Singh Khalda was and why his story is in the headlines again today.
Who was Jaswant Singh Khalda?
Jaswant Singh Khalda was an employee of Amritsar Central Co-operative Bank by profession, but he was also known for raising his voice on issues related to human rights. It is said that after the sudden disappearance of an acquaintance, he started investigating the matter. It is claimed that there they found documents in which the names, addresses and ages of thousands of people were recorded. The allegation was that the last rites of these people were performed without informing the family by declaring them unclaimed. He made public the documents related to his investigation, after which this matter became a topic of widespread discussion.
How did you go missing?
In the year 1995, Jaswant Singh Khalda himself suddenly went missing. According to reports, he was last seen cleaning the car outside his house. After this there was no trace of him. Later, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) investigation revealed evidence that he was kept in a police station in Tarn Taran. After this, the CBI recommended action against nine Punjab Police officers in the case of his alleged kidnapping and murder.
court decision
This case went on in the court for many years. Finally, on October 16, 2007, the Punjab and Haryana High Court increased the sentence of four convicts in this case to life imprisonment. Jaswant Singh Khalda is survived by his wife Paramjit Kaur Khalda, daughter Navkiran Kaur and son Janmeet Singh.
The matter came into discussion again after the film
In the old video going viral, Jaswant Singh Khalda is seen saying in a very emotional manner that till date people have not got the answers to their questions. He says that thousands of mothers are wandering in search of their missing sons. No matter what the world says, a mother cannot accept the death of her son until she herself sees the ultimate truth. The families who did not even find the bodies of their sons, just want to know whether their sons are alive or not.
Comments are closed.