Declared dead by police, former ultra is alive

On learning that the police were claiming to have “eliminated” him, Bandala says he went into hiding in Rajasthan and later changed his name to Surjit Singh. In 1998, however, he was picked up on charges of murder and attempt to murder in Ferozepur and Gurdaspur revenue districts. While the police realised their “mistake” then, claims Bandala, no move was made to determine the truth behind the so-called encounter.

The police kept quiet all through the eight years Bandala spent in jail. He was released only in November 2006.

Asked about the Bandala case, IGP (Border Zone) Rajpal Meena said the police will conduct a probe. “The records have to be examined at Chandigarh and an inquiry will be ordered. It is a sensitive matter,” says Meena.

Jagir Singh from Kala Afghana village is the other link in this encounter chain. According to him, the probe will also prove that it was his young son, Sukhpal Singh, who was killed in place of Bandala. Jagir Singh says Bandala himself came to meet him. He told him to stop waiting for his son and expressed sympathy for what had happened.

Both Bandala and Jagir want a high-level inquiry into the matter. “I am alive, someone else was killed. The Punjab Police must get to the bottom of the matter and pay due compensation to the innocents. I want to know who pocketed the award money,” says Bandala.

Jagir accuses some friends of his son, “who were actually police informers”, of spiriting him away from home and then getting him killed in Ropar. Sitting alongside Sukhpal’s widow Dalbir Kaur, Jagir Singh hopes that the probe will end once and for all their 13-year-long wait for any conclusive news on what happened to Sukhpal.

Incidentally, DSP Jaspal Singh, who carried out the encounter, is now in jail in a human rights violation case. Police informer Avtar Singh Tari, who was also involved in the encounter, is behind bars.

The records show that Bandala, popularly known as ‘Neela Tara’ (Blue Star), was one of the trusted aides of Bhindranwale. “Santji had sent me to Rajasthan for some work in June 1984 when Operation Bluestar took place. Since there were several cases registered against me, I went into hiding. Later, I was shocked to learn that I had been killed in an encounter,” says Bandala.

The Punjab Human Rights Organisation (PHRO) says it is not surprised at Bandala’s case, that it only vindicates their stand that over 300 innocent people were killed during terrorism in Punjab. “Why is the Punjab police shying away from the truth? There should be a white paper on the matter,” said Sarbjit Singh Verka, chief spokesperson of the PHRO.