Srinagar - In occupied Kashmir, the Sikh community has demanded a fresh probe into the Chattisinghpura massacre in which 35 Sikhs were killed by Indian army agents, on March 20, 2000. The incident occurred when the then United States President, Bill Clinton was on a visit to India.
The Coordinator of All Parties Sikh Coordination Committee (APSCC), Jagmohan Singh Rainas addressing a condolence meet at the village urged the puppet administration to conduct fresh probe into the massacre, which took place during the intervening night of March 20-21 in 2000.
On the evening of March 20, 2000, 15 to 17 unidentified gunmen dressed in Indian army fatigues entered the village of Chattisinghpora, located in Islamabad district and ordered all of the Sikh men and boys to assemble at the village Gurdwara and systematically shot and killed 35 of them. Many others were injured in the attack. Five days after the incident, the police and the Army had claimed to have killed five persons involved in the killings at nearby Pathribal village, but it later turned out that the deceased were civilians and were killed in a fake encounter.
An inquiry into the incident was ordered after residents staged demonstrations and during one such demonstration, Indian police and CRPF opened fire killing eight protestors on April 3, 2000.
The Indian Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) gave a clean chit to the police in the massacre case but filed chargesheets against five army officers. Later, the Supreme Court stayed till further orders the criminal trial against the five officers.
Dear Panthic org,
First of all i would like to correct you on one place here. the name of the place is Chithhi Singhpora and not Chattisinghpora. 35 sikhs were made to stand in a line and shot dead by ak-47s. only one man had been able to escape taking advantage of the dark who saw the entire massacre and was too shocked to speak anything for a couple of days.
the village women and the elder people told that though the men with the guns were in army uniforms, but they also had slippers, gola shoes and sports shoes on their feet.
i sincerely doubt what all the government says it true, as i was one of the unfortunate people who attended the poor people's mass cremation.
there is one more concern that you must attend too. for is this issue is not addressed, the sikhs will share the same fate what the Kashmiri Pundits suffered during the 90s. these days, every second muslim in the Kashmir region tells the sikhs not to make any houses, or buy any property, as they say that it all would eventually belong to them. discrimination on a large level is being done to the sikhs at all levels. now there is not the tactic of forcing to leave by force. the tactic now being applied is to mentally break the sikhs so that they can leave Kashmir. Sikhs in huge number have started buying land to make homes in the regions of Jammu, Madhopur, and punjab.
i dont know how you would react to this but despite all seems calm on the surface, the undercurrents are very turbulent. and i am able to tell you these things because they happen to us in everyday life at our own home in Kashmir.
Goodluck, in getting anything out of the Indian Government. This Government will never be fair to the Sikhs.
This shouldn't not stop raising the issue.
You have already mentioned in your first paragraph that Indian army agents killed 35 Sikhs on March 20 2010, so what is the need of independent inquiry?
So let's forget about inquiry since we already know, and take your best pick (for the number of killers) from 1.3 million Indian army and send them to gallows. How about some Brahmins?