RE: KILLING OF PEACEFUL SIKH PROTESTERS IN PUNJAB
As a concerned constituent I request that you raise the above matter with the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary so this can be taken up with the Indian authorities as a matter of urgency and followed up with the Indian PM when he visits in mid-November. Please write to me to confirm matters have been raised with the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary and their response.
I am worried and deeply concerned for the hundreds of Sikhs that have been arrested and for the further killings of innocent Sikhs that is increasingly likely. Tough and speedy action is needed against police officers responsible for the killings and brutality and arrests and prosecution of those who desecrated Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, our living Guru.
Following the desecration of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, the Sikh Holy scriptures and the eternal living Guru of the Sikhs, at Bargari village in Faridkot district tens of thousands of peaceful Sikh protesters had pitched their tents in Kotkapura town since Monday 12 October.
Protesters also blocked the Moga-Ferozepur national highway at Dagru village, and the Moga-Kotkapura highway at Samalsar and Rode villages demanding the arrest of those responsible for tearing off more than 100 pages of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji and scattering them throughout Bargari village.
In shocking scenes on the morning of 14 October the Punjab Police used lethal force against the peaceful Sikh protesters without warning while they were undertaking their morning prayers in Kotkapura. The police initially used batons to attack the peaceful protestors and then resorted to use of water cannons full of sewage water to try and disperse protesters.
Later they opened fire with live ammunition killing a number of unarmed Sikh protesters and injuring dozens of others. Two of those killed have been identified as Kishan Singh, 45, of Niami Wala village and Gurjit Singh, 20, of Sarawan village. In appalling and horrific scenes hundreds of Sikhs exercising their democratic right to peacefully assemble and protest were beaten, dragged away and arrested reminding everyone little appears to have changed since 1984 in terms of a disregard for Sikh lives and police brutality.
In a damage limitation exercise the Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Badal later ordered a judicial inquiry by a high court judge to probe the desecration incident and its aftermath, besides giving assurances that exemplary punishment would be awarded to perpetrators of the “dastardly act”. Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal announced Rs 1-crore reward to any person giving information leading to the arrest of those who committed the act of sacrilege.
These shocking scenes have caused global outrage within the Sikh diaspora and given the large Sikh community in the UK, this has extra relevance and importance for such issue to be raised appropriately.
I look forward to hearing back from you and the relevant government ministers.
Yours sincerely,
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