Khalsa suicide case: Four FIRS registered
Suicide charges against Khalsa; 200 people — including his son Jujhar Singh, relatives and villagers — booked for demanding money to lift a road blockade; murder charge against unknown cops; Arms Act case against five others
KURUKSHETRA: The Kurukshetra police have registered four FIRS in following the death of Sikh rights activist Gurbaksh Singh Khalsa, who committed suicide by jumping off a water tank at his native village Thaska Ali on March 20.
The first FIR was registered on March 20 wherein the police booked Khalsa under Sections 309 (attempt to commit suicide) and 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty).
The FIR was registered on the complaint of Ismailabad police station SHO Dinesh Kumar who had alleged that he repeatedly requested Khalsa to come down from the water tank, but the latter refused.
The FIR mentioned that after repeated requests, when the SHO tried to climb the stairs of the water tank, Khalsa threatened that he will jump and commit suicide, following which the SHO stopped.
“The family members (of Khalsa) also appealed him to come down, but he did not do so and committed suicide,” the FIR said.
However, Khalsa’s family members alleged that the cops were repeatedly threatening Khalsa to come down, following which he jumped to death.
The police registered second FIR against about 200 people, including Khalsa’s son Jujhar Singh, relatives and villages, under Section 384 (extortion) and other charges. This FIR was registered on the complaint of SHO Dinesh.
In the complaint, it was alleged that the accused refused to take Khalsa’s body from the police and blocked the Shahbadthol road near Thaska Ali. As the police tried to talk to them, they demanded Rs 20-lakh compensation to lift the road blockade, the complainant said in the FIR.
However, Khalsa’s family members have refuted the allegations, saying they were only demanding action against the police officials allegedly responsible for his suicide and there was no demand of money.
“We never demanded money from anybody. We were protesting peacefully demanding action against cops, who forced Khalsa to jump off the water tank”, Khalsa’s brother Jarnail Singh said.
“Some people were even approaching us with the offer of a government job to Khalsa’s son, but we refused. We will never take even a single penny from anybody,” he added.
Asked why they have been booked under extortion charges, Kurukshetra superintendent of police (SP) Abhishek Garg said, “The section depends upon the contents of the complaint.”
In the third FIR, the police have booked five people — Surender Singh, Gurleen Singh, Gurdip Singh, Amrit Pal and Dilawar Singh — for carrying weapons illegally and violating Section 144 imposed in the area, under Sections 25 and 27 of the Arms Act and 188 of IPC.
The fourth FIR was registered against unknown cops under section 302 (murder) of IPC.
Later, BJP MLA Bakshish Singh Virk had given Khalsa’s family assurance about a fresh FIR under Section 306 of IPC against two SHOS.
However, the police said that a fresh FIR will only be registered as per the report of the magisterial inquiry ordered in the case by Kurukshetra deputy commissioner SS Phulia.
“The FIR under Section 302 has already been registered and a fresh FIR will only be registered after the investigations,” SP Garg said.
Meanwhile, both SHOS of Ismailabad and Jhansa police stations, who were present at the spot on March 20, have been transferred out of the district.