Khalra was investigating four major cases at one time and continued to collect evidence and witnesses. These cases included the custodial killing of Behla, the human-shield case concerning the death of seven civilians, the cremation of 25,000 unidentified bodies in Punjab, and that police had killed about 2,000 police officers not collaborating in counter-terror operations. [6] The Central Bureau of Investigation, a Union Government agency, concluded that police had unlawfully cremated 2,097 people in Tarn Taran district alone. [3] Ensaaf, “Sardar Jaswant Singh Khalra,” video report, 2006, http://www.ensaaf.org/docs/khalravideo.php (accessed April 13, 2007). Rumours rustled the wheat fields. [Jaswant’s former colleague] Piara Singh’s family had heard about the Durgiana Mandir cremation ground and thought he may have been taken there. “Jaswant Singh, with his usual composure, made his way out there,” says Paramjit. “He asked the attendant if one Piara Singh’s body had been brought.”

Jaswant Singh Khalra asserted there could have been over 25,000 Sikhs illegally killed and cremated by the state. To date, families of those who "disappeared" during the insurgency are awaiting confirmation of the fate of their missing loved ones. A list of names has been published by Tribune India. [11] Family [ edit ] In 2022, it was announced that Punjabi singer and actor Diljit Dosanjh would be portraying Jaswant Singh Khalra in his biopic. Thereafter, several people staged protests on the film sets of Jaswant Singh Khalra’s biopic objecting to Diljit Dosanjh’s portrayal of the character calling him “Videshi” and citing that he was westernised. We remember S. Jaswant Singh Khalra on the anniversary of his disapperance. We reflect here on his work, his death his legacy and how the uproar over his abduction caused ripples in Canada.Thousands of mothers await their sons even though some may know that that the oppressor has not spared their sons’ lives on this earth. A mother’s heart is such that even if she sees her son’s dead body, she does not accept that her son has left her. And those mothers who have not even seen their children’s dead bodies, they were asking us: at least find out, is our son alive or not? 1 Jaswant Singh Khalra was the director of a bank in the city of Amritsar in Punjab during the militancy period in Punjab. Following Operation Blue Star, the assassination of Indira Gandhi, and the 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots, the police were empowered to detain suspects for any reason, ostensibly as suspected terrorists. The police were accused of killing unarmed suspects in staged shootouts and burning thousands of dead bodies to cover up the murders. [4] [5] With a smile he then asks, “My yaar had gone missing, my friend whom I adored and trusted with my life. How was there even a question whether I would support his case in whatever way possible?” Ensaaf, “Sardar Jaswant Singh Khalra,” video report, 2006, http://www.ensaaf.org/docs/khalravideo.php (accessed April 13, 2007). This video is an edited recording, with subtitles, of a speech Khalra gave in April 1995 in Toronto, Canada, regarding his human rights investigations.

Khalra was last seen in September 1995, washing his car in front of his house in Amritsar. Six Punjab police officials were later convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for Khalra's abduction and murder.On 11 April 2011, the Supreme Court of India dismissed the appeal filed against the sentence to life imprisonment for the four accused, scathingly criticizing the atrocities committed by Punjab Police during the disturbance period. [19] [1] Legacy [ edit ] Memorial [ edit ] Answer: At that time I rang his colleagues. Then we met IG Bhatti and told him that this is the work of Ajit Singh Sandhu as he had been threatening us. IG Bhatti said, "What right do they have to kidnap a man from our area, by the evening I will find him." But IG Bhatti did not do anything. The following are excerpts from the English version of the last international speech given by Jaswant Singh Khalra:

In 1997, after SSP Sandhu’s suicide, Gill wrote a letter to Prime Minister IK Gujral, in which he described the legal cases proceeding against SSP Sandhu and other policemen as “an unprecedented and unprincipled inquisition,”“a sustained and vicious campaign of calumny, of institutional hostility and State indifference,” and public interest litigation as “the most convenient strategy for vendetta.” 49

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Question: Couple of days before the kidnapping of Bhai Khalra by the police, Bhai Khalra released a press note stating that, "I know the police will soon kill me, but by killing me they will not stop the mission to search for the disappeared Sikhs." How did Bhai Khalra find out that the police wanted him dead? US State Department, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, “Country Reports on Human Rights Practices—1990: India,” p. 1437; US State Department, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, “Country Reports on Human Rights Practices—1992: India,” p.1133. Article 356 of the Indian Constitution empowers the President and Parliament to bypass the elected state government and administer the state if the governor determines that “the Government of the State cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution.” Khalra's daughter said that, as a member of a community that is a minority both in India and in the U.S., she feels it is important for Sikh youth to have people who have made a difference in the community to look up to.