Bhai Suba Singh

There was another encounter which was shown to have taken place at Bani Lodhi in North Jaimal Singh Tehsid; it was alleged that two men Suba Singh and Jaspal Singh were coming from Pakistan border - there was a fight and then the police shot them down. This case has created a stir in Gurdaspur district because not merely it was so utterly false but against a man who was highly respected.  Suba Singh's wife has filed a case of murder against the Pathankot police in October 1984 which is still pending though with months have passed.  We visited the home of Suba Singh in Talwandi village.  P.S. Deepa Nagar (District Gurdaspur) and met his wife who has not yet recovered from the sudden shock of her husband’s murder.

Suba Singh (35) was a teacher in Government Primary School, highly respected person, a good hockey player who had been selected for participating in the Punjab Stat Hockey competition.  He and a constable Mukhtiar Singh of Deena Nagar PS were friends and used to visit each other; on 2.10.84 while returning from school, Suba Singh dropped in at his friend's place.  Pushing the door of his room, open he found Jaspal Singh Gill - a very well known, hockey player of Punjab and a friend of Suba Singh thrown in a corner of the room, his mouth gagged all trussed up like a bundle.  He saw some constables also there who seemed to be surprised to see him there.  Suba Singh quickly closed the door and meeting his friend Mukhtiar Singh on the way home told him what he had seen.  Reaching home he described the incident to his wife and father. 

At about 6 p.m. Mukhtiar Singh came, and told him that he had come to fetch him as the SHO wanted to meet him.  Suba Singh left with him and that was the last the family would see him.  Feeling worried, when he did not return for a long time, his wife and son went to Deena Nagar to find out from Mukhtiar Singh what had happened; there they found the police jeep ready to leave from Deena Nagar, inside were a half-conscious Suba Singh in Handcuffs, Jaspal Singh all tied up, S.S.P. Pandy, Mukhtiar Singh and a few other constables; it took the Pathankot road and disappeared.  Next day on 3.10.84, finding out that they had been taken to Pathankot, they went to the P.S. Pathankot but were told there was no such person called Suba Singh there. 

On 5th morning they read in a local newspaper that the police had an encounter with Jaspal Singh Gill and another unknown person in which both were killed.  Rushing back to Gurdaspur they found from the photograph of the 'unknown' person at Kalanaur P.S. that is Suba Singh.  The post-mortem report makes it clear that he had been 'severely injured in his right hip and spine prior to his death 'Suba Sing had no land and his family of 4 small children, wife and old father depended entirely on his small income.  Who will look after the family, now that he is dead?  Suba Singh by inadvertently opening the door or Mr. Singh's room happened to be the only person who had seen Jaspal Singh Gill either having been already killed or going to be killed by the police.  So he had to be silenced, all evidence had to be wiped out of arbitrary arrest, torture, killing.  Thus a fake encounter story was put before the Police of two terrorist coming from Pakistan.

Taken from Report to the Nation: Oppression in Punjab