Bhai Kuljit Singh Dhatt

Kuljit Singh Dhatt was a Sikh of Ambala Jattan village near Dasuya in Hoshiarpur district, described by Ensaaf as a village sarpanch. Punjab Police took him on 23 July 1989 and he was never seen again. Ensaaf's profile records his age as 35, says he was married with three children and had no earlier detention, and answers "No" to its fields "Militant" and "Militant support provided". His body was never returned to his family.

The police account and the inquiry. The police said that he had escaped from custody by jumping into the Beas; the Tribune reports that a later FIR spoke of a weapons recovery and that his family disputed it. Ensaaf describes the killing as an extrajudicial execution the day he was taken. A judicial commission appointed by the Supreme Court, which Ensaaf calls the Randev Commission, reported in October 1993, found the escape story fabricated and indicted five officers (IANS; The Tribune). Ensaaf names them as Ajit Singh Sandhu, then a DSP, SHOs Jaspal Singh and Sardool Singh, Sub-Inspector Sita Ram and SP Sutanter Pal Singh Basra, and says Sandhu led the abduction.

Twenty-five years. Parkash Kaur, the sister of Bhagat Singh, and Dhatt's brother Harbhajan Singh pursued the case. She filed a writ in the Supreme Court in September 1989 (IANS). In October 1996 the Supreme Court ordered a case against the five officers, who were arrested in December 1996 and then bailed, and charges were framed in April 1997. Ajit Singh Sandhu died in May 1997, and Sardul Singh also died while the case was pending. The case then stayed for over fourteen years in the High Court (The Tribune). On 9 May 2014 Additional Sessions Judge Poonam R Joshi at Hoshiarpur convicted three former police personnel, SPS Basra, Jaspal Singh and Sita Ram, and gave each five years' rigorous imprisonment and fines, with Rs 90,000 of each fine to go to the family as compensation. Harbhajan Singh said the family had received no justice and planned to seek a higher sentence from the High Court (The Tribune).

Key moments

• 23 July 1989: taken by Punjab Police.
• September 1989: a writ is filed in the Supreme Court.
• October 1993: the judicial commission reports.
• October 1996: the Supreme Court orders the case against five officers.
• 9 May 2014: three officers are convicted at Hoshiarpur.

The wider record. Ensaaf says Ajit Singh Sandhu was also linked to the 1995 abduction and killing of Jaswant Singh Khalra. Ensaaf's profile adds that Dhatt's family still seeks public acknowledgment, prosecution of those responsible, a truth commission and a memorial.