Wednesday, April 6, 2016
Tuesday, April 5, 2016
DSGMC President letter to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister to take away medals, withdraw promotions given from UP policemen convicted in Pilibhit fake encounter killing 11 innocent Sikh youths
New Delhi / 2 April 2016 The Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) President Manjit Singh G.K. had written a letter to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav demanding that the state government should withdraw promotions, perks and medals given to all 47 policemen of the state police who had been convicted by a CBI court for massacring innocent Sikhs 25 years ago in Pilibhit, UP during all these tenure.
Manjit Singh G.K. in the letter said that the police work with the mentality to suppress minorities to the extent of killing them. He adds that during the days of terrorism in Punjab state police killed thousands of innocent Sikh youths and also Pilibhit incident was a ploy of the police to kill innocent and take promotions. 11 innocent Sikhs from Gurdaspur, Punjab were done to death in a merciless manner by stopping the bus at Pilibhit and a fake encounter was shown when they were returning to their home in Punjab.
DSGMC President also said that these policemen had proved no less than the terrorists coming from outside country and attacking Indians and for minorities the protectors have become life takers.Raising voice against the convicted policemen G.K. said that all their retirement benefits be stopped and they be stripped of all their medal and commendations received during 25 years.
Manjit Singh G.K. also announced to honour former Judge of Delhi High court Justice (retired) R.S. Sodhi very soon who filed a public interest litigation in the Supreme Court after which it ordered the matter to be given to the CBI. He made it clear that the decision of the CBI court in Lukhnow convicting 47 policemen was not possible had Justice Sodhi not filed the PIL. G.K. also praised the officers of CBI who investigated the case and made a foolproof case in the court.
Speaking about the case DSGMC president said that out of 11 Sikh youths, for murder of 10 Sikh Sikhs 57 policemen were convicted by the court out of which 10 have died. One Sikh youth among the 11 is still missing even 25 years after the incident.
DSGMC president said that the weapons shown as recovered from the innocent Sikh youths killed in Pilibhit raise alarms for the minorities and he will take legal opinion from experts to initiate a new case to know from where those weapons came to police and how they were shown as recovered from the innocent Sikhs done to death by the police. He also demanded amendment in the Indian penal code that for recovery of weapons the statement policemen should not be accepted as evidence.
With Thanks : Media DSGMC
Monday, April 4, 2016
1991 Pilibhit fake encounter case: 47 policemen sentenced to life imprisonment
LUCKNOW: A special CBI court on Monday sentenced 47 policemen to life imprisonment for killing 11 Sikh pilgrims at three different spots in Pilibhit district in a fake encounter on July 12, 1991.
CBI court judge Lalloo Singh had convicted the accused cops under sections 302, 364, 365, 218 and 117 read with 120B of the IPC on Friday, adding that there was ample evidence against these persons for kidnapping and conspiring to kill the pilgrims in name of terrorists.
with thanks : Times of India : LINK : for detailed news.
Sunday, April 3, 2016
Govt removes travel ban imposed on many overseas Sikhs
New Delhi, Apr 3 (PTI) Apparently bowing to pressure from ally Akali Dal ahead of next years Punjab polls, the Modi government has lifted travel bans imposed on a number of overseas Sikhs, who were allegedly involved in subversive activities in 1980s and 1990s and kept in watch list.
The blacklist, which was prepared at different levels by security agencies, has been maintained by the government on mostly Indian-origin people allegedly involved in subversive or anti-India activities abroad.
Such people, whose names figure in the blacklist, are barred from visiting India.
Some names have been removed from the blacklist after detailed discussions among various stakeholders, a Home Ministry official said.
The blacklist has been pruned, reportedly following Prime Minister Narendra Modis intervention after Akali Dal supremo and Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal wrote a letter urging him to remove names of 36 Sikhs settled overseas from the travel ban.
Though the exact number of people whose names were removed from the blacklist is not known, officials said it was quite a sizeble number.
The move bears significance as assembly elections in Punjab are due early next year.
with thanks : IndiaToday : LINK : for detailed news.
47 cops convicted of killing 10 Sikhs in Pilibhit fake encounter
Tribune News Service
Lucknow, April 2
A CBI court yesterday convicted 47 policemen in the 1991 Pilibhit fake encounter in which 10 Sikh pilgrims were gunned down after describing them as terrorists.
Terming the encounter fake, CBI Special Judge Lallu Singh held the 47 policemen guilty. The quantum of punishment would be announced on April 4.
Twenty policemen who were present in the court were sent to jail. The court has issued arrest warrants against the remaining convicts.
The original chargesheet had held 57 policemen guilty. However, 10 of them died during the 25-year-long trial. In his order, the CBI special judge recounted the sequence of events. The incident took place on July 12, 1991, when the Uttar Pradesh police stopped a luxury bus in which a group of Sikh pilgrims were travelling.
The bus was stopped near Kachla Bridge in Badaun district where the police reportedly offloaded 10 pilgrims. They were made to board a mini bus. Later, the pilgrims were divided into three groups — two of four each and one of the remaining two. Separate police teams then took them to the jurisdiction of different police stations where they were killed in cold blood.
The lure of awards for killing so-called dreaded terrorists was reportedly the motive behind the killings. Some of the Sikh youth had terror-related cases pending against them which the police had come to know.
Following media reports questioning the police version of the encounter, Supreme Court advocate RS Sodhi had filed a PIL in the apex court seeking a CBI probe, which was ordered.
The chargesheet filed four years after the incident on June 12, 1995, had indicted 57 policemen under various sections of the IPC, including 302, for the fake encounter.
with thanks : Tribune : LINK
Army will let Sikh officer keep turban, beard on active duty
A decorated veteran Sikh officer is the first to win an approval from the U.S. Army to continue on active duty while maintaining his religiously mandated beard and turban.
The Army issued a decision Thursday (March 31), concluding that to allow beards for medical reasons but ban them for religious reasons is a discriminatory bar to service for Sikh Americans, according to a statement from the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, one of the law offices that argued his case.
Capt. Simratpal Singh, a West Point graduate, an Army Ranger, and a veteran who earned a Bronze Star in Afghanistan, “proves to our military that the religiously mandated turban and beard do not hinder the ability to successfully serve,” said Sikh Coalition Legal Director Harsimran Kaur in a statement Friday. “This decision gives hope that our nation’s largest employer is making progress towards ending a policy of religious discrimination.”
Singh, who is assigned to battalion operations staff in Fort Belvoir, Va., said in the statement: “My faith, like many of the soldiers I work with, is an integral part of who I am. I am thankful that I no longer have to make the choice between faith and service to our nation.”
Three other Sikh soldiers are pursuing similar accommodation, according to the Sikh Coalition. The Becket Fund and McDermott Will & Emery filed another federal court lawsuit on Tuesday asking the Army to allow the men to enter basic combat training while still wearing their beards and turbans.
Debra Wada, assistant secretary of the Army, granted Singh’s request and gave notice that the Army will “gather information to develop uniform standards for religious accommodation,” according to the decision.
“Captain Singh’s case is a painful study in the onerous hurdles for observant Sikh Americans who want to serve their country,” said McDermott Will & Emery partner Amandeep Sidhu. “With this historic accommodation, we hope that the U.S. military will finally move past protracted, case-by-case religious accommodations and recognize that the time for permanent policy change is now.”
with thanks : DesertNews : LINK : for detailed news.
Saturday, April 2, 2016
Golden Temple’s Community Kitchen Goes Organic, Grows Its Own Vegetables without Pesticides
The Golden Temple, Amritsar. Source: Wikimedia Commons.
Visitors of the Golden Temple in Amritsar are soon to be served healthy, freshly produced organic food at the community kitchen. The management committee has made a landmark decision to adopt organic farming to grow its own grains, fruits and vegetables, free of chemicals.
A new mission undertaken by The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), they also aim to inspire farmers to take up organic farming and cut down on the use of chemical products.
SGPC now grows its own organic vegetables and fruits on 40 acres at Gurdwara Gurusar Satlani Sahib and Patiala.
In the first phase of its experimental model, carrots, cabbages, spinach, and fenugreek or methi seeds from this farm have been successfully grown. About 10 quintals of organic produce are sent to the gurudwara every one or two days, according to SGPC officials.
The Punjab Agro Industries Corportation Limited (PAIC) was instrumental in helping the SGPC to test its soil and suggest options for organic farming. The experts at PAIC also advise them on how to replace pesticides and the use of organic fertilisers. They’ve suggested the use of neem patta, lassi and cow urine, among others.
The langar, or community kitchen, at the Golden Temple is the world’s largest free kitchen. It is popular for serving food to everyone irrespective of caste, religion or background. The gurudwara’s community kitchen, Guru Ramdas Langar Hall, receives nearly 100,000 people. It serves 200,000 roti made of 7000 kilograms of wheat flour, 1200 kilograms of rice, and 1300 kilograms of daal. The kitchen is manned by 450 dedicated people and many volunteers.
The SGPC is the apex organisation of Sikhs that manages all the gurudwaras in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. After its success at the Golden Temple, the move would be replicated to other gurudwaras in the country.
Link :http://www.thebetterindia.com/49225/golden-temple-serves-organic-food/
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