(Janhastakshep team consisting of Dr N Bhattacharya, a retired Professor of Delhi University, Jaspal Singh Sidhu, Senior Journalist,  Anil Dubey, Senior Journalist,  and Jagdish Yadav, Senior photojournalist has visited different areas in Punjab, sites of police repression. The following statement was released by the team on April, 20, 2010 at a Press Conference in Chandigarh.)

 A team of Janhastakshep, a Delhi based group of civil rights activists and intellectuals visited extensively in Punjab for three days from April 18, 2010 and particularly the places of recent occurrences and observed the following:

That democracy in Punjab is fast receding with fascist trends coming to the fore. The ruling Akali-BJP government seems to have lost propensity of tackling every issue through democratic process.

It imposes World Bank sponsored agenda, being handed over to the state directly or through the Central government unmindful of the local requirements and aspirations of the people. And when such agenda, meets natural resistance from the people, the state political establishment turns it into a 'law and order' problem and invariably imposes its 'will' with iron hand. Use of repressive measures of every sort by the ruling establishment is most common and being perpetuated by a nexus of politicians, bureaucracy, trade and feudal lords.

In rural area, village panchayats are divided with ruling politicians patronizing one group and pitting it against the other and thus creating circumstances for squandering away the officially allocated development funds and splitting villagers on electoral lines.

Education system being privatized at fast pace with English teaching shops sprouting up, thus leaving the government-run schools for wards of economically weak and Dalits. Higher education being restricted to upper middle class and rich. Any attempt by rural people to get higher education is not facilitated by the state government rather systematically blocked. Existing facilities like concessional bus pass, token college and other facilities are getting withdrawn and all demands of organized students union are crushed as 'law and order' problem. Recently, students raising such demand at ITI Moga were subjected to severe repression by the police and state Punjab Students Union (PSU) president were charged with attempt to murder under section 307 IPC and put behind bar.

Illegal Task Force of SGPC, fired upon the tenant cultivators at village Khanna Chamara in Gurdaspur district on 3 November, 2009 to evict them from its land and two people were killed and several others injured including women and children in broad day light. These landless tenants cultivating the SGPC land for two generations and paying the rent regularly are being forced to leave the land with ruling Akali Dal, controlling the SGPC lending all support to the killers against whom no legal action has been taken till the day. At the same, Akali leaders including the Vidhan Sabha Speaker are reported to have been handed the land for cultivation and commercial activities at nominal rents.

One Sukha Singh  of village Sarang Dev Chhanna village under Ajnala Police Station was taken away by SHO of Lopoke P.S and subjected to third degree torture resulting in his custodial death and case has been registered by the SHO in the Lopoke Police Station on 30 December, 2009 under section 302 IPC. But no action has been taken against the SHO for his being a relative of an Ex Akali MLA. The killing of Sukha Singh is reported to have been committed at the instance of land mafia enjoying political patronage. And this mafia was also behind the killing of BKU (Ugrahan) state leader Sadhu Singh Takhtupura on 16 February 2010 who was campaigning for rights of  "Abaadkaars" (farmers who reclaimed the deserted river bed land on the order of the government) and also for the arrest of those involved in the death of Sukha Singh including Rachhpal Singh Baba, the SHO.

The Punjab government has no clear-cut policy for cultivation of the State and Centre-owned land and arbitrarily declared a large chunk of river bed land as 'forest land' thus leaving a wider space for corruption and manipulation by revenue officials, politicians and land mafia.

For the splitting of Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) for purpose of its ultimate privatization, the government did not take the employee and other trade unions into confidence and bulldozed its World Bank sponsored decision without caring for protest by farmers unions and consumers. The government deliberately chose the harvest season for imposing its decision arbitrarily, used excessive security forces and other repressive measures and resorted to unprovoked lathi charge  and arrest of students other protesters in Nawan Shahar on 16 April, 2010.

The small and medium industry in Batala particularly the  foundries' have totally ignored the industrial laws  and safety measures for the labour. Whenever the organized trade union lead by IFTU took up the labor's cause, the government not only harassed the workers but also made an attempt on the life of  IFTU leader Gurmeet Singh Bakhatpura.

The team demands:

1.    A judicial inquiry by a sitting judge of Punjab and Haryana High Court into a) custodial death of Sukha Singh and murder of Kisan leader Sadhu Singh Takhatpura, b) the killings of two tenants and injuring of others by SGPC Task Force at Khanna Chamara and  c) the attempt to murder of IFTU leader Gurmeet Singh Bakhtpura.

2.    Immediate  action and instituting of police cases against police officers involved in attack on students and withdrawal of false cases against PSU leaders

3.    A clear-cut policy for the benefit of Abaadkaars (farmers) in border belt of Amritsar and Gurdaspur Districts and stoppage of eviction of tenant cultivators from the above areas.

4.    Stopping of recurring repression on Medical Practitioners and bringing about a permanent settlement of their demands.