Torture Methods of Punjab Police

Deadly facts about torture during interrogation in Punjab have come alive in a study on custodial deaths by the Institute of Correctional Administration. As many as 50 per cent of the police officials talked to have admitted that third degree methods are used against the suspects due to social and political pressures.

The study, carried out by the institute’s deputy director Dr Upneet Lalli, has further revealed that need for conducting speedy investigation is another reason. “There is a pressure (on the cops) to perform as also pressure to conform”, the report says. For the purpose of the conducting the study, as many as 150 police officials were talked to.

The report adds: Lack of accountability and almost total immunity enjoyed by the police until recently accounts for the fact that 58 per cent of them feel there is no sense of shame in cops accused of torture. Only 27 per cent say their colleagues feel bad about the use of force to effect confession and recovery.

“There seems to be no clear cut message from the top about intolerance to torture as 18 per cent feel their seniors will feel bad. Another 27 per cent have opposite to say,” the report asserts. Just 10 per cent of the police personnel are aware of the guidelines issued by the National Human Rights Commission on custody-related issues. Only 12 per cent are correctly able to specify the Articles of the Constitution dealing with the matter, even though a majority of them are aware of the Supreme Court verdict in D.K. Basu versus State of West Bengal case.

The voluminous 200-page study “Custodial Deaths and Human Rights Commission - an analysis of its role and prevention” has already been submitted to the Punjab State Human Rights Commission. Quoting the contents of the report, the sources in the commission say just one-fourth of the officers talked to admit consultation with their seniors or the relevant rules in case of doubt about their powers.

As many as 90 per cent police personnel from the state and even outside agree to the need for adopting scientific methods of investigations against the hardened criminals. “The main kind of abuse a person faces in police custody has been mentioned as physical (41 per cent) and mental (67 per cent),” it adds. “The main reason behind deaths in police custody has been mentioned as torture, medical negligence and drug addiction”.

Panjab Police - Case Study

Torture of Shaheed Bhai Avtar Singh Ji

Avtar Singh, a candidate for the Punjab Assembly brutally tortured (with hot iron and electric shock) and murdered by the Indian Police. Another example of the barbaric behavior of Indian Security forces. This is the treatment Sikhs get in the so-called "largest democracy in the world." Bhai Avatar Singh Ji, pictured below had received the following barbaric treatment for being a Sikh :

• His abdomen was burnt by using a hot ironing-press.
• His right fore-arm was cut open.
• All the major bones in both of his arms were broken.
• Hot pinchers were used on his wrists to poke burn his skin.
• Hot Steel rods were used to burn the soles of his feet
  

This is just one case, of literally thousands. Amnesty International and other Human Rights Organizations have been crying out about these abuses for decades, while the Panjabi people like myself are living comfortably and whenever someone mentions a case of torture, or police brutality its taboo. We begin covering our ears, and try changing the subject.

These cases of torture are NOT a thing of the past, you just have to look at two recent detainee's Bhai Panjab Singh (UK) and Bhai Jagtar Singh Hawara. The only reason we hear about these cases of torture is because these people are 'high profile' Sikhs, many are still in jails since the 1980's WITHOUT TRIAL who are simply forgotten. Singhs still in prison for 20+ years, and if they are released they're just hounded constantly in their old age. By contrast in Africa, Nelson Mandela went to prison and became Prime Minister.

Sikh Women have suffered no less. They were raped and killed, there are cases were women were paraded naked infront of their dads. The husband was also forced to watch the rapes by the police.

The only way these things are going to stop, is if we realize as a community, or atleast accept these things are happening. How can a problem be solved, such a huge problem, if we dont even accept it exists?

Wake up, wake your families and friends up.

For you it's a short conversation, for another human being it could be freedom.

Feel free to forward, circulate or cut any part of this post.

15 Year old Harpreet Murdered over a photo

By mid-1992, the Indian Police in Punjab had lost all sense of morality and considered human rights to be a joke. On June 25, 1992, 15-year-old Harpreet Kaur RaNo was stopped while riding her bicycle in Amritsar’s Ghio Mandi.

Harpreet Kaur was very interested in the Sikh struggle and used to consider the Sikh fighters her brothers. When the newspaper would print a notice about the Shahidi and bhog of a Sikh fighter, she would cut out their picture and keep it in her purse.

The police decided to search her purse. When the pictures were found, the excuse to arrest this young Sikh girl was found and she was taken directly to the famous torture center at BR Model School in Amritsar. She was put in the custody of Thanedar Darshan Lal who punished Harpreet Kaur for her “crime”. In that dark torture center, only Vahiguru knows what suffering and brutality Harpreet Kaur faced.

Despite her family’s best efforts to free her, the newspapers reported that Harpreet Kaur along with 3 other “terrorists” had been killed on June 27, 1992 near Sultanvind. Her body was not given to the family. The family went to the cremation grounds at Durgiana Mandir and in one pile of ashes, Harpreet Kaur’s sister recognized a kaRa. The two sisters used to wear identical KaRas and the ashes were recognized as Harpreet Kaur’s. No justice was ever expected or delivered for this cold-blooded murder.

Example of Fake Police Encounter

As far as nearly everyone knew, Gurnam Singh Bandala was gunned down in a shootout with police 13 years ago during the waning days of an uprising by Sikh separatists.

That is, until Bandala turned up alive, living as a preacher outside this northern Indian city.

"It's the perfect cover, being dead," says Bandala, the classic image of a towering Sikh with his white robe, deep blue turban and long gray beard.

Authorities now believe an innocent farmer was deliberately killed by police so that they could present his body as Bandala's and collect a $60,000 bounty.

"I thought I was so lucky," Bandala told The Associated Press in an interview. But "there was no luck. There was murder."

Bandala's re-emergence is one of nearly a dozen similar cases reviewed by the AP that have surfaced recently in India. The faked police shootouts have shaken an already troubled justice system in a country that touts itself as a rights-respecting democracy where the rule of law prevails.

Former police officials and human rights activists say the fake encounters are the brutal result of a system dominated by poorly educated, badly trained and corruptible cops, dirty politicians and stagnated courts where justice, if it ever comes, can be delayed for years.

"Because cases take years to be settled, because witnesses don't show up, because bribes are paid, criminals get away. So the police resort to shortcuts," says Sankar Sen, a former policeman who's now a fellow at the Institute for Social Sciences in New Delhi.

The exact number of fake encounters is impossible to determine. Police officials acknowledge only a handful over the past two decades and say they are isolated cases.

But the former and current officers say the problem is more widespread, and rights activists estimated the number must be in the hundreds, if not thousands.

They point to the tens of thousands of people who have disappeared, many after being detained by police during one of the myriad insurgencies here in the last three decades. An estimated 3,000 people were lost without explanation during the Sikh uprising in Punjab in the 1980s and early 1990s. About 10,000 are missing in Kashmir, where an Islamic rebellion festers today.

In Punjab, the fight for a separate Sikh state left about 25,000 people dead, including 1,700 police. Bandala is one of three former separatist militants who were said to have been killed in shootouts but who recently turned up alive.

"Somebody was killed in their place," says Ranjan Lakhanpal, a human rights lawyer. "We believe there are many more."

In Kashmir, a Himalayan region wracked by an Islamic rebellion since 1989, police this year began investigating five cases, all involving security forces who may have killed innocents and claimed they were rebels to earn rewards.

And in Gujarat, a western state riven by tensions between Hindus and Muslims, three policemen and three senior officials have been arrested for their alleged role in the 2005 slaying of a Muslim couple. Authorities earlier had said the husband was part of a plot by Islamic militants to kill the state's top elected official, a Hindu nationalist.

However, the Kashmir and Gujarat probes are exceptions and most allegations never are fully checked, says Ajai Sahni, former chief of India's Intelligence Bureau, part of the country's law-enforcement apparatus. "They're the result of dogged investigations by good policemen. That rarely happens."

One reason few cases are investigated is that most Indians aren't interested. Wealthier Indians in particular have long accepted extrajudicial killings disguised as shootouts as the most expedient way to get rid of criminals.

There's even a reverential term for officers with the highest tallies: "encounter specialists."

"There is pressure from politicians, there is pressure from the public," says Sen, the former policeman. "They wat criminals eliminated, they cheer it."

Sen spent 35 years with the police, eventually running the National Police Academy before leaving the force to head the government's National Human Rights Commission.

He says that when he was a top officer years ago in the eastern state of Orissa, a politician, whom he won't name, told him to kill a troublesome bandit.

Sen says he refused, "but other policemen were more cooperative." The bandit was slain.

Police kill not only career criminals, but also stage shootouts to get promotions or rewards. That was the case with Bandala.

Bandala already was in hiding for a decade when he read, in July 1994, about his own death in a local newspaper. He worried at first, "then I realized the police wouldn't be chasing me anymore," he said.

At the same time, a woman who lived a few villages over would start looking for her husband, Sukhpal Singh.

According to court documents filed by Singh's family, police came to their home in August and picked up the farmer, then 26, for questioning.

"He disappeared like a ghost," says his widow, Dalbir Kaur. "We've never seen him again."

When Kaur and her mother-in-law went looking for Singh, the police who took him said he'd been transferred to another station. So they went there only to be told he'd been sent back to the first.

It went on and on. Months stretched into years. Singh's mother died and his family sold their small farm to pay for lawyers who are seeking $12,500 in a wrongful death suit.

Authorities have never told them what happened to Singh. But a senior Punjab police officer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the matter remains sensitive, said authorities believe Singh was killed in Bandala's place. His body was presented as that of Bandala's and then cremated in accordance with Sikh custom.

Asked what happened to the two officers who were first credited with the killing _ and claimed the reward _ he said one, Jaspal Singh, a former deputy superintendent of police, is in jail, convicted of torturing and murdering a human rights activist. The other, Paramraj Singh Umrananagal, is now a senior Punjab police officer. He refused to speak about the case.

Bandala, meanwhile, was caught by police in 1998 and spent four years in prison on charges of carrying illegal weapons. He was convicted under his real name, but the public record _ which lists Bandala as deceased _ was never changed.

"Nobody likes to be embarrassed," the official said.

Rawalpindi: Police beat Mohammad Bin Masood who was protesting against the disappearance of his father

Welsh School Going on racist!

Nearly 4,000 people have joined online petitions in support of a 14-year-old Sikh girl who has filed a legal challenge after being excluded by her school for wearing a kara.

Sarika Singh, a pupil at the Aberdare Girls' School in the Welsh town of Aberdare, has been excluded since Nov 5 and was forced to attend lessons in isolation for two months after the staff at the school first noticed her wearing the kara or bracelet.

Sarika, who is the only Sikh in her school, has refused to remove the kara, saying it should not be treated as jewellery. The school's uniform policy prohibits any jewelery other than a wristwatch and plain ear studs.

Liberty, the human rights group which has filed the challenge, is expected to argue the school has breached race relations and human rights laws, as well as a 25-year-old Law Lords' decision which allows Sikh children to wear items representing their faith - including turbans - to school.

The group is asking for the school to amend its uniform policy to comply with Britain's Race Relations Act, a major provincial newspaper, the Western Mail, reported Saturday.

The school's governing body must lodge its defence in the High Court by next Friday, before the court starts considering the case mid-January.

Meanwhile, United Sikhs, an international advocacy charity, will also apply to file a third party intervention, the paper said.

The Support Sarika group on social networking site Facebook has 2,366 members, from countries as far afield as Canada, Australia, India and the US.

The site also includes a link to an online petition signed by nearly 1,500 people at supportsarika.co.uk.

Frontline Punjabi Youth comments

So many attacks are being made on the sikh identity, all over the world. France make us take off our turban, no kirpans in denmark etc. All this is happening because the sikhs are a baseless people and have no homeland to fight for our rights and identity. This young girl said that she would cover the kara with cloth in P E lesson for safety reason, so why is she still being targeted. If you dont sign the petition you a skank!

Indians Despise Shaheedi Divas Celebrations for National Sikh Heroes

Picture of Shaheed Bhai Beant Singh & Satwant Singh Ji

New Delhi (KP) – In their latest attempt at direct interference into Sikh affairs, right-wing Hindu organizations and the mainstream Indian media have now criticized the commemoration of Shaheed Bhai Satwant Singh and Shaheed Bhai Kehar Singh by the Sikh Panth.

Not long after publicizing slanderous remarks about the portrait of Baba Jarnail Singh Bhindrawale at the Ajaib Ghar Museum in Amritsar Sahib, the Bharatiya Janata Party along with the Indian media have released more controversial words insulting the status of Akal Takht Sahib. This past week in Amritsar Sahib met with a clash of words between the BJP party and the ‘Akalis’ as the right-wing Hindu organization criticized the announcement of Bhai Satwant Singh and Bhai Kehar Singh as martyrs of the Sikh Faith.

A great surprise to many, the BJP received strong support from its chief rival, the Congress (I) party, in condemning the move by Akal Takht Sahib. In the past, both parties have shown strong disagreement over various issues. In fact, the BJP remains a big threat to the Congress ‘regime’--but the reality that both organizations joined together to interfere with the internal affairs of the Sikh Community raises eyebrows.

Speaking to the press, Jayanthi Nataranjan (Congress) joined with the BJP leadership and termed the 'equalizers' of Indira Gandhi, who pre-planned genocidal attacks against Sikhs, as “violent killers.” She further declared moves by the SGPC and Akal Takht Sahib as being in direct violation of the Indian Constitution. Rajiv Partar Rudi of the BJP also stated that the declaration of Bhai Satwant Singh was unacceptable to Indian Citizens.

Sikh leadership however, has taken a strong stance against the remarks by the BJP and the Congress party. A faction of Damdami Taksal from Mehta Chowk has asked the Indian Government to keep itself out of the internal affairs of the Sikhs. Baba Harnam Singh Dhumma, who is close to the Shiromani Akal Dal (B), told the press that the execution of Indira Gandhi was a necessity of time and that her assassins were not killers, but martyrs of the Khalsa Panth. If she had not been stopped, there could have been a massive genocide against Sikhs, worse than that which actually did take place.

The function held at Akal Takht Sahib to commemorate the martyrdom of Bhai Satwant Singh and Bhai Kehar Singh was attended by various eminent organizations and individuals. The declaration, which is receiving criticism from the BJP and Congress parties, came from Akal Takht Sahib's appointed Jathedar himself.

Recently Panthic Weekly published pictures of many of these eminent leaders mingling with right-wing Hindu supremacists, including those belonging to the BJP hierarchy. These pictures were shot at the 2007 ‘Prerna’ Program which took place awhile after the BJP had taken a stand against the installation of Baba Jarnail Singh Ji’s portrait.

What is in common or in contrast between these organizations-- BJP, Congress, SGPC and SAD (B) - is yet to be discovered, but the Sikh Nation remembers which groups stood with and against it during Operation Bluestar and other Government organized pogroms. One thing certain is that the moves by the Hindutva organization needs special attention from Panthic ‘watchdogs’.

Head Granthi Second Key Witness against Tytler

New Delhi (KP) – Controversial Congress leader Jagdish Tytler who was recently given a clean chit by India's Central Bureau Investigation (CBI) in cases of his involvement in the 1984 anti-Sikh pogroms has once again found himself in trouble as fresh evidence establishing his involvement in the massacres has emerged. CBI dropped all charges against Tytler in November 2007 because of 'absence' of eye-witnesses as all those who had previous testified had withdrawn their statements at one point or another.

The IBN-CNN News team which played a big role in exposing exactly why all the testimonies were retracted interviewed Bhai Surinder Singh, Gurdwara Majnu-ka-Tilla who was a Granthi at Gurdwara Pul Bangash (Central Delhi) in 1984. In the interview with IBN, Surinder Singh discloses in grisly detail that the incidents of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots were preplanned and Jagdish Tytler played an important role in the planning. Surinder Singh claimed that he personally saw Tytler, who was a renowned public figure, inciting mobs to carry out attacks against the Sikhs.

During his video recording which was released by IBN, Surinder Singh quotes Jagdish Tytler’s instructions to the mobs while referring to the killing of Indira Gandhi which took place on Oct. 31st, 1984. Although Surinder Singh had submitted his statement with the Nanavati Commission, he later retracted the statement as the police failed to provide him with any security. Surinder Singh, who without knowing that his statement was being video-taped held that he saw, not one, but three men being killed by mobs during the 1984 riots.

Murder of Shaheed Bhai Badal Singh by Mobs

Bhai Surinder Singh narrates how Bhai Badal Singh, the Ragi of Gurdwara Sahib Pul Bangash was attacked and killed by Hindu mobs after he left the Gurdwara Sahib premises at 8 AM. It was the morning of November 1; Bhai Badal Singh was near the Azad Nagar Market when he was surrounded by a team of mobs. Bhai Badal Singh ran from the market to save his life and hid at the residence of a person named Amarjeet Singh who lived close by. Mobs kept searching for Bhai Badal Singh but were not able to find him anywhere.

After an hour, when Bhai Badal Singh finally came out, the mobs spotted him and Badal Singh then attempted to run towards the terrace. He was followed by the mobs who were thirsty for blood of the Sikhs. One of them snatched Badal Singh’s kirpan and stabbed him in the stomach with it. Badal Singh had not died from the stabbing so the mobs then threw his body down from the 2nd floor. Surinder Singh was crying in pain and his body was then loaded on a small vehicle and taken to the Gurdwara Sahib. By this time, a lot of people were accompanying the mobs and all were dancing as if there was a wedding going on. A tire was put across his neck and kerosene was sprayed on him and lit. This is how Bhai Badal Singh was burnt alive by the Hindu Mobs.

Murder of Shaheed Bhai Thakur Singh

In the video, Bhai Surinder Singh gives details of murder of a Sikh Inspector named Thakur Singh. The murder took place the same morning. Bhai Surinder Singh was in the company of Inspector Thakur Singh and the mobs had already started their job of putting buildings on fire. At that time, Inspector Thakur Singh was working in the Delhi Gurdwara Management Committee and had already taken retirement from his post as a policeman.

In the morning, when the mobs tried to attack the people inside the Gurdwara Sahib, Thakur Singh suggested Bhai Surinder Singh to refrain from going out in public. Instead, Bhai Thakur Singh went out to have a talk with the mobs himself. Bhai Thakur Singh told the mobs that a school of 1400 girls was being run in the complex which had enrollment of 1200 Hindu Girls. Thakur Singh was trying to explain that all Sikhs had good relations with Hindus but the mobs cared less to listen to his explanations. A man then approached Thakur Singh and hit his head with a metal rod. Thakur Singh became unconscious and fell to the floor.

Police shot bullets and helped mobs put the Gurdwara Sahib on fire

The mob then approached Bhai Surinder Singh and hit him with the same metal rod. In the video, Bhai Surinder Singh shows the bruises under his turban that were a result of the incident. Surinder Singh however escaped the attack as when he fell down; his hand touched the kirpan that was kept by the door. Surinder Singh at once took the kirpan and swung it with full force without looking and incidentally made contact with face of a mob. The mobs got scared and ran from the place to save their lives.

Afterwards, Surinder Singh went out to follow the mobs while holding the kirpan in his hand. Although no mob dared to come close to him, police which was standing nearby starting shooting at him. Surinder Singh then ran back to the Gurdwara Sahib after hearing warnings of the police. All Singhs then went to the top portion of the Gurdwara Sahib to escape further attacks but the mobs which had again regrouped outside now put the Gurdwara Sahib building on fire with burning tires and kerosene. They had some “white acid” which was being used to make fire.

Outside, the mobs discovered that Bhai Thakur Singh was still alive. Thakur Singh was then dragged to the same place were Bhai Badal Singh was burnt alive. He was then treated in the same manner with tire and kerosene. When he started screaming, the Singhs who were stuck on the top floor of the Gurdwara Sahib realized that Thakur Singh was also being burnt alive.

After escaping from the Gurdwara Sahib, Bhai Surinder Singh and others went to police station where they discovered that SHO Sardar Manjit Singh was locked up in a cell because he was a Sikh. Jagdish Tytler was sitting in the police station with other policemen.

Murder of Amarjeet Singh’s servant

Amarjeet Singh was a TV shop owner and his servant was the third person whose murder was witnessed by Bhai Surinder Singh. After Bhai Badal Singh hid at residence of Bhai Amarjeet Singh, the mobs had come to his house and found his servant who was also a Sikh. The servant, whose name was not disclosed by Bhai Surinder Singh in the interview, was then taken to outside of the Gurdwara Sahib. A tire was put across his neck and he was also burnt alive with help of kerosene.

This is how the mobs who were incited by Jagdish Tytler killed three Sikhs in front of Bhai Surinder Singh. During several times in the video, Bhai Surinder Singh confirms the involvement of Jagdish Tytler and having eye-witnessed the three murders, along with the other destructions caused on the streets of New Delhi.

Retracting Statements – Jagdish Tytler Exposed

For long, public has failed to bring Jagdish Tytler and other criminals who instigated murders of thousands of Sikhs to justice. The main reason claimed by the CBI remains retracting of statements by eye-witnesses. The video recording of Bhai Surinder Singh suggests why and under what circumstances the statements against Jagdish Tytler were withdrawn by all eye-witnesses.

According to Bhai Surinder Singh, Jagdish Tytler came to the Gurdwara Sahib and asked him to sign two sheets of paper. Bhai Surinder Singh however refused to cooperate. Furthermore, later on Bhai Surinder Singh was forced to retract his statement because he feared danger to his life through hands of mobs once again.

When Bhai Surinder Singh was called to speak to the panel of Nanavati Commission, he told them clearly that he only feels comfortable speaking against Jagdish Tytler as today, the Government is of a different political party but however, tomorrow if Congress again comes to power, he will be forced to withdraw his statements because he does not want to die.

These statements by Bhai Surinder Singh have once again put the name of Jagdish Tytler in limelight. Not very long ago after the CBI dropped all charges against Tytler, Bhai Surinder Singh is the second consecutive eye-witness whose name has emerged after that of Jasbir Singh who also testified involvement of Jagdish Tytler in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. (Below is a picture of Tytler)

Protest at halal meat use at school

Mums have criticised an Oxford school for serving halal meat in children's lunches without their knowledge.

Parents of pupils at Rose Hill Primary School, in The Oval, were angered by a letter they received from headmistress Sue Mortimer.

It informed them the halal meat had been used in all school meals as part of the school's inclusion policy.

The letter said the reason for the decision was that since halal meat was not forbidden by any religion or culture, its use would allow everyone to choose a meat dish for lunch.

But said they were upset by news the school had become the first primary in the county to ask caterers for all meat dishes to be halal, for a trial period.

Lyndsy Johnson, said: "I am angry that the headmistress seems to think she can do anything she wants without informing parents.

"Our kids do not know what they are eating now. We have got rights as well as everybody else."

Mum-of-three Sharon Haynes, 35, from Radford Close, said: "Why should we let our kids eat halal meat?"

Mum Maria O'Callaghan, from Jerseycorr Road, said: "I don't agree with the way the animals are killed for halal meat."

Mrs Mortimer was unavailable for comment. However, RaghibAli, one of the founders of the Oxford Islam and Muslim Awareness Project, said: "The meat looks the same and tastes the same. It's just a different way the animals are reared and killed. It's not cruel - it's better for the animal."

However, Dr Taj Hargey chairman of the Muslim Educational Centre of Oxford, believed the school was at fault for not telling parents about the change.

An Oxfordshire County Council spokesman said three other schools in Oxford offered halal chicken up to once a week, and two more schools had requested halal meat, but had not started serving it.

Parents have now launched a petition against the use of halal meat.

About 10 mums stood outside the school gates this week to ask parents to add their signature to a petition calling on the school to offer a choice.

Frontline Punjabi Youth

All types of meat is wrong and frontline punjabi youth condemn all types of meat. However Halal meat is a meat for Muslims. It is wrong to serve non muslims halal meat without their knowledge. Halal meat is the meat of animals killed in a cruel way and the animal suffers more pain then other types of meat. They slice the throat and say their prayers while the animal has a slow and painful death. But the Bitch said it weren't cruel. Why don't she make her kid halal then!

Aggi Pakistani Men

Life for killer of student

Feroz Khan, who killed Skander Rehman because he believed, wrongly, he was having an affair with his wife

A 20-year-old gunman who shot dead a "thoroughly decent young man" out of misplaced sexual jealousy has been told he faces spending the rest of his life behind bars.

Feroz Khan blasted Skander Rehman in the back of the head at point blank range after luring him to a Bradford park because he wrongly believed his victim had been having an affair with his wife.

But Leeds Crown Court heard 20-year-old university student Skander had rejected the girl's advances out of decency and loyalty to Khan.

Sentencing Khan to detention for life, Judge James Stewart, QC, told him: "This was a planned offence, a cold-blooded execution of a young man who had his whole life in front of him, for no other reason than you wrongly thought he had disrespected and been disloyal to you. Your behaviour has sent shock waves through your community. In my judgement you are a highly dangerous young man who has access to guns."

Judge Stewart said Khan, of Cumberland Road, Lidget Green, Bradford, would have to serve a minimum of 20 years in custody before he could be considered for parole.

But he told him: "You will then be assessed and only thereafter be released when and if the Parole Board decide you no longer present a danger to the public "In your case, because of the nature of the crime this may never be"

Mr Rehman, of Girlington, died in hospital two days after he was shot in Brackenhill Park, Great Horton, on February 26 this year.

Skander Rehman

The murder weapon, a 9mm semi-automatic pistol which had been converted to fire live ammunition, has never been found.

Prosecutor Rodney Jameson, QC, said Khan was an acquaintance of Mr Rehman but had used Skander's friend, Toqueer Ahmed, to lure him to a meeting at the park.

Mr Jameson said it was a planned execution and the motive appeared to be Khan's belief that Skander had been having an affair with his wife.

But the prosecutor said: "His belief was entirely wrong. Khan's wife made it plain she had had another sexual partner, but it wasn't Skander Rehman.

"She had asked Skander Rehman if he would consider having a relationship with her and he had declined."

After the shooting Khan showed the murder weapon to a friend and said he had "taken his chance" to shoot Mr Rehman in the head. He later went to see his wife and told her: "I have shot someone today. I did it for you."

He gave himself up to police four days after the shooting. In a statement he claimed Mr Rehman was a "sex pest" who had stalked his wife.

But Mr Jameson said: "Mr Rehman had a natural, normal healthy interest in girls, but he was not a sex pest and had not stalked Khan's wife."

Khan, who was 19 at the time of the offence, pleaded guilty to murder before his trial was due to start in October. Toqueer Ahmed pleaded not guilty to murder and was cleared by a jury.

Graham Hyland, mitigating, said Khan, who was of previous good character, had only decided to shoot Mr Rehman on the day it happened and had had the courage to plead guilty. He came from a decent family and his father was a hard-working man with a DIY shop in Bradford market. Khan still had a wife and a child who is three next month.

Judge Stewart told Khan: "You took him under false pretences to a secluded part of the park where you pulled out a gun and shot him at point blank range in the back of the head. You then fled the park, leaving Skander Rehman alive but mortally wounded.

"Your belief was that Skander Rehman had had an affair with your wife, when he had done no such thing. He had been asked by your wife for an affair but, out of decency and loyalty to you, he refused.

"Skander Rehman was part of a caring family who now have to come to terms with the murder of their son and brother, which in all probability they will never be able to do."

After the case, Skander's mother, Samina Rehman, said: "I am glad he has got 20 years because he took my son's 20 years from me, but he should have got more.

"It makes it harder that there was no reason for him doing this. I hate him from the bottom of my heart. I hope he never gets out."

Superintendent Dave Oldroyd, who led the investigation, said the murder was a "tragic and totally unnecessary waste of life."

Supt Oldroyd said: "Skander was a completely innocent party and did not deserve what happened to him in any way.

"I would like to thank the local community for the support and assistance they have given to the police during this investigation as I feel that it helped to bring about a swift resolution.

"Thankfully gun crime of this nature is rare in West Yorkshire. The sentence Khan has received should stand as a clear warning to people who are prepared to use firearms."

Detective Inspector Paul Harrison said the motive of jealousy and vengeance had shocked the inquiry team and said the offence was despicable.

He added: "Every person who came into contact with Skander immediately took a liking to him."

Frontline Punjabi Youth

This shows how Pakistani crime gangs have a zero tolerance policy and are ready to kill even their own friends for a minor misunderstanding. What chance do us "kaffirs" have not to be on the recieving ends of their fury!

women attacked

Women 'attacked by Mumbai mob'
By Prachi Pinglay BBC News, Mumbai

Juhu beach is popular with Mumbai residentsPolice in India's financial capital, Mumbai (Bombay), are investigating the alleged assault of two young women early on New Year's day.
Nearly 70 men were reportedly involved in the incident near a top hotel in the city's Juhu area, which was captured on camera by two newspaper photographers.

The men are seen surrounding the women after they left the hotel.

Police have yet to make any arrests in the case. The incident has fuelled fears about women's safety in the city.

'Clothes torn'

The Hindustan Times newspaper, whose staff photographed the incident, reported that the two women left the five-star hotel with two men after attending New Year celebrations.
The women were teased and harassed by a crowd of men outside, the paper said.

One of the women had her clothes torn in the incident which went on for about 20 minutes, it added.

The crowd dispersed only after the photographers called two policemen who were on duty in the area.

"I got to know about the incident this [Wednesday] morning and since there was no formal complaint in this matter, the police will lodge one," Mumbai police commissioner, DN Jadhav, said.

He said investigations were continuing. Senior police officer Archana Tyagi told a television channel that the police had deployed 100% of its force in Mumbai on the New Year's eve.

'Safe city'

Last New Year's eve, a woman was the subject of an alleged assault at the Gateway of India in Mumbai, one of the country's most famous landmarks. Again, the incident was caught on camera by a photographer for a local paper. Police said they could only take action against the woman's alleged attackers if she pressed charges. The incidents have damaged the image of Mumbai which is generally believed to be safe for women.

"Mumbai is a safe city but what happened is very unfortunate. Outsiders like tourists will think that this place has become unsafe. Government should take strict action against the offenders," said Mumbai resident Sameer.

Shyamli, a business executive, said: "What has happened is wrong. I am shocked. I was at Juhu at 4am that night and saw many policemen there. But now I feel Mumbai is a little unsafe for girls."

Men quizzed over Mumbai 'assault'

The Gateway of India - one of the country's most famous landmarks Police in India's financial capital, Mumbai, have questioned five young men in connection with the alleged assault of a woman on New Year's eve.

The woman had her clothes torn in the incident at the Gateway of India, one of the country's most famous landmarks.

The alleged attack was caught on camera by a photographer for a local paper. Pictures of the men questioned have been widely publicised in the media.

Police say they cannot take action unless the woman presses charges. Three of the men have been charged with mobile phone theft. The other two are to be released, police say. Deputy commissioner of police, Brijesh Singh, told the BBC: "If she comes forward and identifies them, we will definitely charge the concerned people."

Safety debate

Police say the five young men had gone to the Gateway of India to pick pockets and steal mobile phones. They are accused of snatching the girl's cell phone, after which a struggle broke out in the crowds who had gathered. A male friend with the woman tried to protect her but was himself attacked.

The BBC's Monica Chadha in Mumbai says the incident has sparked renewed debate about whether the city is safe for women. Last April, a former policeman was jailed for 12 years for raping a teenage girl in daylight while on duty at a police check post. In August 2005, a woman was stabbed to death at the Gateway of India, also in daylight.

However, lifestyle editor for TimeOut magazine and Mumbai resident, Divia Thani-Daswani, believes it is still the safest city for women in India.

"I think this was a freak accident... Given the size of Mumbai and the potential for crime here, I think it is still very safe.

Spike Drugs that can kill

Man jailed after date drug rape

A Fife man convicted of drugging and raping a 21-year-old woman last June has been sentenced to five years in prison at the High Court in Edinburgh. David Symon, 32, from Dunfermline, used the so-called date-rape drug GHB to subdue his victim, the court heard. Symon's conviction is thought to be the first in Scotland involving the drug. Judge Roger Craik QC told him: "You took advantage of a situation where the victim was unconscious and unaware of what was happening." He added that the court took the matter "extremely seriously". At an earlier hearing, the woman told the court that she was invited to a party on the outskirts of Dunfermline.

Drug traces found

She said Symon gave her a couple of drinks from a bottle which she thought had once contained Irn Bru and he had some himself. She said: "I didn't know what effect it might have. I was just sitting there and it was like my head would explode and I couldn't see in front of me." The victim said the next thing she recalled was waking up in a house with Symon. She was lying naked on the floor and Symon was on top of her. Symon, of Pentland Terrace, had denied raping the woman on 1 June last year. The charge stated that he had left his victim "bereft of the power of resistance" because he had given her gammahydroxybutyrate.

The court heard how police found the suspicious drink bottle in Symon's home and tests revealed traces of GHB. The drug, commonly known as GHB, is a clear, odourless liquid which produces feelings of euphoria in small quantities, like alcohol, but higher doses cause "an unrousable-type sleep" for one to four hours. As well as receiving a five-year jail sentence, Symons was placed on the sex offenders register.

The victim, who has not been named, told BBC Scotland that she was no longer able to trust anybody. She said: "I can never look at anybody, like a boy, in the same light."

Rape Crisis worker Sandy Brindley said women should be encouraged by the fact that it is possible in Scotland to bring such a prosecution. She said: "If you are raped and drugs are involved there is a possibility you will get justice for your experience and that has to be welcomed."

From BBCNews. co.uk

Drugged and raped…but what they slipped in my drink could have killed me
Chilling truth about chemical cocktails used in sex crimes.

When Tania left her cola on the table and nipped the pub loo, she had no idea of the nightmare that would follow.Two men at the bar secretly slipped a sedative into her drink and waited until the drug took effect. Then they whisked her back to their flat and drugged her again before repeatedly raping her.

It has taken the 28-year-old from Dorset years to get over her terrifying ordeal, but it could have been even worse. For many of the drugs favoured by rapists like the pair who attacked Tania have deadly side-effects and are capable of killing you.

One of them, GHB, could cause death from respiratory failure if mixed with alcohol. Another, ketamine, can be fatal if taken with GHB and alcohol. Then there are tranquilisers called benzodiazepines, which have been linked with damage to the brain and nervous system.
You might think you’d be safe enough in a pub or a club with plenty of people around. But some ruthless men use these places to prey on unsuspecting women – and it takes just seconds to spike a drink and turn it into a powerful chemical cocktail.

Date-rape drugs are hard to spot and fast-working. Now police and healthcare professionals are warning women to be ever-vigilant in bars, pubs and clubs, especially when dealing with strangers.Shocking figures show that drug-induced rapes are reaching alarming levels – and official statistics are probably the tip of the iceberg as many assaults still go unreported.

The Drug Rape Trust charity helped more than 1500 women in 2001, twice as many as the previous year. And attacks reported to the Roofie Foundation, a UK drug-rape help group, rocketed from 39 in 1990 to 804 in 2000. The full toll every year runs into the thousands.
Dep Chief Insp Peter Sturman set up the Drug Rape Trust after researching the chilling sex crime. He says, ‘I discovered that there are a lot of people out there being attacked, not believed and not receiving the services that society should give them. Somebody had to help them’

Saint-Souljaz aka Spritual warriors

A Sikh is a saint- soldier; both concepts go hand in hand. In sikhi you can’t be one without the other. There are many saints who say they love God, but turn a blind eye to injustices and inhumanity. There are many brave soldiers, who are ruthless, slay innocents and fight for unjust causes.

As a saint a Sikh prays and worships God. In kaljug even this is a battle as the 5 internal enemies of greed, attachment, ego, anger and lust try and keep one away from God. The more you worship God the better chance you have at defeating these enemies and obtaining salvation. But as you are living your spiritually life you can not ignore injustices. Guru Nanak dev Ji spoke out against injustices. Guru Hargobind, Guru Teg Bahadur Ji and Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji fought battles against tyranny.

You cant say you love God if you don’t do your duty and defend Rightousness; also in the same way you cant say you love God if you never worship the lord!


CHARCTER OF A WARRIOR!

One who eradicates his own evil is a brave warrior; Ang 258 SGGSJ
Guru Ji is telling us that those whose worship the lord , wake up at amrit vela, do their nitnem and with gurus grace defeat the five enemies are the bravest of brave.

The warrior who fights on the battle-field should keep up and press on. ANG 341 SGGSJ No matter how hard tackling the 5 enemies becomes, we must keep getting back up and trying.

They alone are acclaimed as brave warriors in the world hereafter, who receive true honor in the Court of the Lord. ANG 580 SGGSJ
If one jaaps naam, avoids sin and maya. They will be blessed in the after life. Avoiding maya in the battle of life is a sign of a true warrior. A lot of people are entangled in the opposite sex, money, family, house, car and etc. Even though we need to do certain worldly things we must always remember they are an illusion and false.

He alone is called a warrior, who is attached to the Lord's Love in this age. ANG 679 SGGSJ
Anyone can pick up a gun; people are getting shot all-over everyday. But only a few can worship the lord and defeat their internal enemies. Whether we like it or not the Skin heads are really strong physical warriors. They can take a good beating too most of the time. But they are evil and demonic type people who have no love for God.

Salok, Kabeer
The battle-drum beats in the sky of the mind; aim is taken, and the wound is inflicted
The spiritual warriors enter the field of battle; now is the time to fight!
He alone is known as a spiritual hero, who fights in defense of religion
He may be cut apart, piece by piece, but he never leaves the field of battle. ANG 1105 SGGSJ

Sikhs have always defended their religion, 1984 was a recent event were a lot of Sikhs sacrificed their lives defending the faith from Indra Ghandis government.

Those who follow the Guru's Teachings are the true spiritual warriors; they have conquered sexual desire and anger. They enter into the True Mansion of the Lord's Presence, embellished and exalted by the Word of the Shabad. ANG 1280 SGGSJ

Like a Brahmin without a sacred mark on his forehead, or a king without the power of command, or a warrior without weapons, so is the devotee of God without Dharmic Faith. ANG 1359 SGGSJ
If a Sikh doesn’t worship the lord, he/she can not be a devotee of god. If we don’t do our Nit-nem, Sehaj Patths, Simran, Amrit-vela are we really Sikhs of the Guru?

He is not won over by fighting and dying as a warrior in battle. O Nanak, the Lord is won over only by His Name. ANG 1237 SGGSJ
Shaheedi is a big thing and a very good deed. But if the shaheed has not worshiped the lord or japped naam, his/her Shaheedi alone isn’t enough to get one into such-khand. But in the same way not fighting against injustices is also a big Sin, no matter how much naam you Jaap.

He is the Warrior Hero of Truth, humility is His Power. His Loving Nature inspires the Congregation with deep and profound understanding; He is absorbed in the Lord, free of hate and vengeance ANG 1393 SGGSJ

The Sikh of the Guru is unique in the sense, if someone kills their kid, they will not go and kill their kid. If a Sikh has a problem with the BNP, they will not hate all white people. A Sikh should see everyone as the family of God and should only be interested in justice.

Sikh taxi driver has his hair biten out!

(Seattle, WA) November 26, 2007 - A Sikh cab driver was brutally assaulted by a passenger on Saturday, the night of Gurpurab. Sukhvir Singh's attacker threatened to kill him, calling him a "terrorist" as he punched and bit him, pulling locks of hair from his head. The Sikh Coalition calls on the King's County Prosecuting Attorney's Office to prosecute the incident as a hate crime.

What Happened

On November 24, 2007, Sukhvir Singh had stopped his cab at a deli to eat when two Seattle police officers approached him and asked him to drive home a man who was in their custody. It was the night of a University of Washington football game in Seattle, and the man was intoxicated. Mr. Singh agreed to help the police officers by taking the individual back to his residence, but he never made it there.

On the way to his home, the passenger began to verbally abuse Sukhvir Singh, using religious and racial slurs and threatening to kill him. As his anger escalated, he attacked Sukhvir Singh from the back seat, putting him in a chokehold and knocking off Mr. Singh's turban. He pulled his long hair so hard that it came out in clumps. Trapped in the I-5's carpool lane, Sukhvir Singh had no choice but to stop the car and get out to escape his attacker. His attacker tumbled out onto the highway with him and continued beating him until Washington State Troopers responded to the scene.

Sukhvir Singh was hospitalized overnight, and has been vomiting ever since he returned home yesterday.Sukhvir Singh, a Kent resident, is shaken. "I am in a lot of pain, and don't understand why someone would do this to me. I love America and hope that in my case, justice will be done," he said.

Seattle's Police Department has not yet begun a full investigation of the incident. The Sikh Coalition is particularly concerned that a police report on the incident does not include any information on the bias motivation for the crime.

"Seattle's public officials need to take a strong stance against bias. We expect that this incident will be investigated and prosecuted as a hate crime," said Jasmit Singh, a member of the board of the Gurdwara Singh Sabha of Washington, and a Sikh Coalition board member.
This is not the first hate attack against a Sikh in Seattle. In October 2001, a Sikh motel owner from Renton was beaten over the head and told to "Go to Allah." In 2003, another Seattle taxi driver was surrounded by a group of men calling him "Osama" and telling him to "Get out of this country." Though his cab suffered thousands of dollars worth of damage, the incident was not prosecuted as a hate crime.

The Sikh Coalition asks all Sikhs to support its call for a hate crime charge in Sukhvir Singh's case. Seattle's Sikh community will be organizing a rally for Sukhvir Singh later this week.
We urge all Sikhs to practice their faith fearlessly. If you or someone you know is a victim of discrimination, please report it to legal@sikhcoalition.org.

Frontline Punjabi comments:

I think the police officers might have put this drank in Singhs cab delibrately!

Brothers killed in US; family says racial killing

Two brothers from Patiala were shot in the US on Friday night. According to their family here, Paramjit Singh Kalsi and Ravinder Singh Kalsi, 30, were shot in California by unidentified assailants.

The brothers owned a restaurant in the United States. The restaurant manager gave the details of the incident to deceased’s family. “Two people approached the restaurant door and shot Ravinder when he let them in.

They then chased Paramjit to the back of the restaurant and shot him before fleeing. The restaurant was not robbed,” the manager told the family over phone. The Kalsis, who live in Model Town, Patiala were in a state of shock. Paramjit and Ravinder’s mother, Gurbachan Kaur, could not even speak. “We just want the bodies of our brothers to be sent to us and the government should do something as we have no information about it,” said Balwinder Singh, the deceased’s brother.

The family claimed it is a case of racial killing. The family said Paramjit and Ravinder had shifted to the US in 1997. Five years later, the duo bought the Sahib Indian Restaurant in South Richmond. The deceased were also involved in the real estate business. One of the brothers was engaged and the duo was to come home for the wedding by month-end Relatives said for some initial years in the US, the brothers did construction work in Berkeley and saved money to buy a house. “They bought, renovated and sold or leased several houses over the years, eventually to open a restaurant and send money home,” they said.

Frontline Punjabi Youth Comments:

This is happening at an alarming rate all over the world but mainly in America. The American government does allow the right to self defense. I urge all Sikhs to obtain a gun licence and carry a concealed weapon for self defence.

The right to own a firearm is embedded in the American psyche like a splinter of flint, jagged and immovable.

It all goes back to the Founding Fathers who in 1791 amended the new American constitution with the following words: "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed."

Its better to shoot back instead of being a sitting duck. Sikhs are getting wacked day in day out because racists think we are Muslims. Which Sikh is next? Fight Back- Stay Strapped!

Racist French President visits INDIA

The Sikh Federation (UK) has called on the entire Sikh leadership in Punjab not to miss the opportunity of exerting pressure regarding the dastaar issue prior on the French President, Nicholas Sarkozy visiting India on 24 January. Manmohan Singh has invited the French President as his special guest of honour for the 26 January Republic Day celebrations.

Bhai Amrik Singh said: ‘We urge those in the Punjab Government, SGPC, the Khalsa Action Committee, the newly formed Panj Pardanhi leadership of Shromani Akali Dal (Amritsar), Simranjit Singh Mann and all others concerned with the right of Sikhs to wear the dastaar to show they are united in demonstrating Sikhs are deeply concerned with the discriminatory laws of the French Government.’

The situation has now been going on for years and it is time for Sikhs to see if they can come together and leave the Indian Prime Minister and French President in no doubt that Sikhs will continue in their campaign until they are victorious.’

Bhai Amrik Singh pointed out: ‘The right of Sikhs to wear the dastaar is not just about Sikh school children, but also when Sikhs are forced to produce photographs without the dastaar to obtain passports and driving licences in France . It is ridiculous that Sikhs are being put through this humiliation, when the Indian Prime Minister himself knows the identity of a Sikh is only complete with the dastaar.’

Frontline Punjabi Youth Comments

How can the Prime Minister of India invite this racist creep as a guest of honour when he discriminates against Sikhs. Where is the Honour of the Prime Minister? , the little rat!

Is the french president telling Mr Priminster to take his turban off before the photo because the French seem to be used to doing that!

Sikhs losing their SADARI !

There was a time in our history were Sikhs faced death instead of cutting their hair. The legend of Bhai Taru Singh is a great example of this. There was prices put on a Sikhs head by the Mughal government; Sikh famalies had to hide in the jungles and fight wars to protect themselves. But the hair was kept untouched.

But in Punjab now days we pay a hindu barber to cut the hair. So much has changed now. Below is a typical picture of a Sikh Punjabi Family in Punjab. Notice how all the youngsters want to look like bollywood stars. (They also look like bhaiya Musalmaan from Bihar) Its a shame that we give up our sadari just to become posers.

on each and every hair, the Lord abides. ANG 343 Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji

With each and every hair, with each and every hair, as Gurmukh, I meditate on the Lord. ANG 443 Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji

O Lord of beautiful hair, Destroyer of pain, Eradicator of sins, Nanak lives, gazing upon the Blessed Vision of Your Darshan. ANG 829 Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji

One who is pleased with the Lord God's Will is a devotee, the True Guru, the Primal Lord. ANG 923 Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji

Finally, the True Guru said, ""When I am gone, sing Kirtan in Praise of the Lord, in Nirvaanaa.""
Call in the long-haired scholarly Saints of the Lord, to read the sermon of the Lord, Har, Har.
Read the sermon of the Lord, and listen to the Lord's Name; the Guru is pleased with love for the Lord. ANG 923 Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji

The Gurmukh meditates on the Lord with every hair of his body O Nanak, the Gurmukh merges in Truth. ANG 941 Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji

But these days our boys want to look like this:

Instead of a SARDAR!