:dateline:Taking a harsh notice of court ruling in the Kuljit Singh Dhatt disappearance case, Sikh political organization Dal Khalsa took exception over the 5 year imprisonment sentence given to three police officials found guilty in the case, and termed it travesty of justice. The organization stated that in place of delivering justice to victim family, the court order has given a jolt to them.
Representative of the organization, Kanwar Pal Singh said the three guilty officers were responsible for human rights abuses in Punjab. They worked out of the ambit of law, and discharged their duty extra-constitutionally.
�Kuljit Singh was innocent and was no way connected with any militant movement. He was abducted, tortured and killed in a planned way. Hence the crime of these guilty officers was serious in nature. The punishment given to�State Police Service (SPS) Basra, Jaspal Singh and Sita Ram was much less severe [than their crimes], not on par [with the atrocities committed], and has disheartened the justice seekers,� he said.
He added, �After a 25 years of wait for justice, the court has killed all hopes of the victim family members. Not only the justice has been delayed, but denied also.� adding, �The impunity enjoyed by the security forces has taken the toll on the justice. All talks of respect for rights and rule of law rings hollow.�
