Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale - Sikh Missionary Society (UK)

there is no respect for the judge and the (police) officer says he is everything, then thereis the instruction:aApN hWI aApNA aApE hI cAjU svArIa>|"With your own hands, take care of your business".'He publicly identified 226 some of the most notorious culprits in the police force. Some of theseofficials were eventually killed, possibly by surviving relatives of their victims. The Governmentand the news media immediately held Sant Bhindranwale responsible for 'death of conscientiouspolice officers' without any evidence that he was connected with these incidents in any directmanner. For example, he protested that he had nothing to do with Atwal's murder in April 1983.However, most writers continue to blame him for it. There is a feeling 227 that the Governmenthad got Atwal killed to silence him forever. He was a Sikh police officer who knew too muchabout the murder of Sikhs in Chowk-Mehta in 1981 where he was on duty at the scene, and themurder of the 19-year old Hardev Singh and his associates by the police in March 1983 forwhich he was supervising the investigation. However, later on, faced with continuing torture andbrutality of his adherents, Sant Bhindranwale did declare that he would provide shelter to anyone who would punish the culprits. This was after the Sikhs had been driven to the wall.Frustrated in his attempts to get the Government to inquire into incidents of police excesses andto punish the guilty officials, he told his audiences in March 1983:'Khalsa Ji: one gets justice out of inquiries when there is room for (vcIl, dlIl,apIl) legal representation, argument, and appeal. Here (under Indian Government) it isoutright injustice. They have decided to annihilate the Sikhs, to insult their turban, todestroy their Faith. Under this situation, why do you need to use a lawyer and appeal?'Again, in July 1983, he said:'Khalsa Ji: what assurance, what justice, what fairness can you expect from aGovernment, from courts, which no longer trust people, which have lost all faith in menand trust only dogs? How can you expect justice from them? Those who have no faithin men, those who have no faith in the legal process, in reasoning, and in appeal toconscience of the perpetrators; those who only trust dogs, but if the dogs point to theirown house as the source of crime, they don't trust the dogs either.'3. Keeping 'Hit-Lists'Indian Government and its supporters have said that Sant Bhindranwale kept 'hit lists ofthose who disagreed with him and organize their murder'? Amarjit Kaur refers 228 to 'the barbaricacts, duly sanctioned by the author of the 'hit-lists' living in the safety of Akal Takht'.226 For example: Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, Speech on February 27, 1983.227 Personal conversations with some members of Atwal's family and some other individuals.228 Amarjit Kaur, The Akali Dal, the Enemy Within, in The Punjab Story, edited by Amarjit Kaur et al., Roli Books, NewDelhi, 1984, page 24.43