The commission evoked great responseThe crowd in the Precincts of a small gurdwara in Chandigarh last month wasn't there to pay obeisance.Theirs was a supplication for justice before the three-member People's Commission for alleged police excesses during the turbulent days of terrorism in Punjab.Many returned disappointed as they did not have the necessary documents to support their claims, but the overwhelming response the panel evoked has unnerved the police and the Akali Dal-BJP Government in the state. The commission - set up by a coordination committee representing half a dozen human-rights agencies in the state - further raised the hackles of the state police when it shot off notices to nearly 80 officers, following complaints against them.They have been asked to reply to the charges before the panel's next hearing in Ludhiana in mid-October. "Letting this illegal panel function will vitiate the atmosphere and affect police morale," says Punjab DGP P.C. Dogra. It's not just the police which is upset about the commission. A public interest petition was filed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court on September 4, seeking a ban on the commission's proceedings..preferred-source-banner{ margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom:10px;}The petition is widely believed to have the support of the police. On its part, the force too faces over 1,800 writ petitions and 150 inquiries. In official circles, the commission, a brainchild of former Supreme Court judge Kuldip Singh, is being viewed as an orchestrated attempt by the human-rights lobby to put the police on the defensive."The commission will do what the Government should have done," says Singh, alluding to the ruling Akali Dal's pre-poll promise to set up a judicial commission to fix responsibility for alleged police excesses.Click here to EnlargeThe state administration, however, feels the issue is political rather than administrative in nature."Police officers cannot be exposed to a private commission that has no legal sanction or locus standi," says Punjab Chief Secretary R.S. Mann. Senior BJP Minister Balramji Das Tandon rejected the commission as "an unwarranted and illegal stunt". Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal is in a dilemma; while the commission has the tacit blessings of hawkish Akali leaders like SGPC chief G.S. Tohra, its coalition partner, the BJP, is gunning for it.There are ripples within the Akali ranks as well. The moderate Akalis' predicament lies in their claim to redress the police excesses of the past and a compulsion to protect the police against the offensive of the human-rights lobby. "Only a political strategy can counter the fresh challenge posed by pro-militant ideologues masquerading as human-rights activists," says Finance Minister Captain Kanwaljit Singh.But Badal has stopped short of taking a decision on the matter: "Where is the need for such a panel when there is already a state human-rights commission to take up such cases." He knows any political or administrative action against the commission will evoke a backlash. The police top brass in the state is already working on a counter-offensive: moving court to challenge the panel and mobilising families of the terrorists' victims to protest against the commission in the next hearing."Our strategy is to undermine the credibility of this extra-judicial panel," says a senior police officer. With battle lines clearly drawn, echoes of a turbulent past return to haunt the state.Published By: AtMigration Published On: Sep 21, 1998--- ENDS ---
