Ajit Singh Sandhu

67 documented cases directly implicating Ajit Singh Sandhu in abduction/disappearance:

Amritsar District

Amritsar II Subdistrict
Anokh Singh Male, age 35 at time of disappearance, Amritsar
Harminder Pal Singh Male, age 25 at time of extrajudicial execution, Tangra
Jaswant Singh Khalra Male, age 42 at time of extrajudicial execution, Amritsar
Rajinder Singh Male, age 22 at time of extrajudicial execution, Jaspal Nagar
Khadoor Sahib Subdistrict
Balwinder Singh Male, age 42 at time of extrajudicial execution, Vain Poin
Gulwinder Singh Male, age 22-23 at time of extrajudicial execution, Khadur Sahib
Harjit Singh Male, age 22 at time of extrajudicial execution, Khojkipur
Kewal Singh Male, age 28-30 at time of extrajudicial execution, Fatehpur Badesha
Kuldip Singh Male, age 21-22 at time of disappearance, Fatehpur Badesha
Randhir Singh Male, age 34-35 at time of disappearance, Mal Chak
Sardool Singh Male, age 50-55 at time of extrajudicial execution, Gagrewal
Saroop Singh Male, age 21 at time of disappearance, Fatehpur Badesha
Sukhdev Singh Male, age 17 at time of extrajudicial execution, Kot Mohammad Khan
Patti Subdistrict
Ajit Singh Male, age 60-62 at time of extrajudicial execution, Kairon
Anokh Singh Male, age 40 at time of extrajudicial execution, Uboke
Buta Singh Male, age 27-28 at time of extrajudicial execution, Bhura Kohna
Jagdish Singh Male, age 23 at time of extrajudicial execution, Patti
Kabul Singh Male, age 25 at time of extrajudicial execution, Rasulpur
Nishan Singh Male, age 22-23 at time of extrajudicial execution, Rajoke
Satnaam Singh Male, age 20-21 at time of extrajudicial execution, Shahid
Tarn Taran Subdistrict
Ajit Singh Male, age 58-60 at time of extrajudicial execution, Behla
Atma Singh Male, age 67-68 at time of extrajudicial execution, Naushehra Pannuan
Balbir Singh Male, age 40 at time of extrajudicial execution, Dugri
Balwinder Singh Male, age 25-30 at time of extrajudicial execution, Mughal Chak
Balwinder Singh Male, age 30 at time of extrajudicial execution, Sanghe
Balwinder Singh Male, age 35 at time of extrajudicial execution, Jhabal Kalan
Bhagwan Singh Male, age 26 at time of extrajudicial execution, Chohla Sahib Khurd
Chanan Singh Male, age 55 at time of extrajudicial execution, Warana
Davinder Singh Male, age 40 at time of extrajudicial execution, Tarn Taran
Gurdeep Singh Male, age 42 at time of extrajudicial execution, Jiobala
Gurmej Singh Male, age 27 at time of extrajudicial execution, Sarhali Kalan
Gurmel Singh Male, age 41 at time of extrajudicial execution, Pandori Gola
Harphool Singh Male, age 20 at time of disappearance, Jiobala
Inderjeet Singh Male, age 19 at time of extrajudicial execution, Sakhira
Iqbal Singh Male, age 19 at time of extrajudicial execution, Chhina Bidhi Chand
Jatinder Singh Male, age 26 at time of disappearance, Bhullar
Kartar Singh Male, age 55-60 at time of extrajudicial execution, Behla
Lakhwinder Singh Male, age 21-22 at time of extrajudicial execution, Behla
Manjinder Singh Male, age 21 at time of extrajudicial execution, Rataul
Manjit Singh Male, age 22 at time of extrajudicial execution, Manochahal
Niranjan Singh Male, age 58-60 at time of extrajudicial execution, Behla
Parmjit Singh Male, age 18 at time of extrajudicial execution, Kambo
Piara Singh Male, age 50-59 at time of disappearance, Jiobala
Punjab Singh Male, age 20 at time of extrajudicial execution, Chhappa
Rupinderjit Singh Male, age 22 at time of extrajudicial execution, Tarn Taran
Sakatar Singh Male, age 25-26 at time of extrajudicial execution, Behla
Sarwan Singh Male, age 25 at time of extrajudicial execution, Sarhali Kalan
Satnam Singh Male, age 21 at time of extrajudicial execution, Manochahal
Sukhdev Singh Male, age 19-20 at time of extrajudicial execution, Dhun
Sukhdev Singh Male, age 35 at time of extrajudicial execution, Panjwar
Sukhdev Singh Male, age 20 at time of extrajudicial execution, Buchar Kalan
Surinder Kaur Female, age 35-36 at time of extrajudicial execution, Tarn Taran
Surjit Singh Male, age 53 at time of extrajudicial execution, Chohla Sahib
Tajinder Singh Male, age 22 at time of extrajudicial execution, Palasaur

Fatehgarh Sahib District

Bassi Pathana Subdistrict
Sarbjeet Singh Male, age 20-21 at time of extrajudicial execution, Ghel

Gurdaspur District

Batala Subdistrict
Waryam Singh Male, age 20 at time of extrajudicial execution, Bure Nangal
Gurdaspur Subdistrict
Harjinder Singh Male, age 38-40 at time of extrajudicial execution, Ram Nagar

Hoshiarpur District

Dasuya Subdistrict
Bikram Singh Male, age 23 at time of disappearance, Khuda
Kuljit Singh Dhatt Male, age 35 at time of extrajudicial execution, Ambala Jattan
Saroop Singh Male, age 27-30 at time of disappearance, Nangal Khunga
Mukerian Subdistrict
Satpal Singh Male, age 25 at time of extrajudicial execution, Chak

Kapurthala District

Kapurthala Subdistrict
Ajit Singh Male, age 65 at time of extrajudicial execution, Khanpur
Gurmej Singh Male, age 28 at time of extrajudicial execution, Fattu Dhinga
Kulwinder Singh Male, age 10-11 at time of extrajudicial execution, Khanpur
Lakhwinder Singh Male, age 16-17 at time of extrajudicial execution, Khanpur
Prithipal Singh Male, age 22 at time of extrajudicial execution, Fattu Dhinga

Location Withheld

Anonymous Female, location withheld

Key statistics of cases directly implicating Ajit Singh Sandhu:

Victim Demographics 

Gender

97.0% Male 65
 
 
3.0% Female 2

Marital status

47.8% Not married 32
 
 
52.2% Married 35

If married, did the victim have children?

47.8% Yes 32
 
 
4.5% No 3


Total children surviving victims: 96

Religion

100.0% Sikh 67
 

Caste

86.6% Jat 58
 
 
13.4% Non-Jat 9

Age

4.5% 0-17 3
 
58.2% 18-33 39
 
20.9% 34-49 14
 
11.9% 50-64 8
 
3.0% 65+ 2
 
1.5% Age unknown 1
 

Education

13.4% No education 9
 
11.9% Primary school 8
 
23.9% Middle school 16
 
35.8% High school 24
 
1.5% Some college 1
 
4.5% College degree 3
 
1.5% Graduate degree 1
 
3.0% Vocational degree 2
 

Employment

44.8% Farmer/agriculture 30
 
7.5% Shopkeeper 5
 
7.5% Student 5
 
3.0% Day labourer 2
 
3.0% Unemployed 2
 
1.5% Driver (bus/truck/car) 1
 
1.5% Mechanic 1
 
1.5% Housewife 1
 
29.9% Other 20
 

Urban / Rural

86.6% Rural 58
 
 
11.9% Urban 8

Abduction, Detention, & Torture 

Prior detentions

35.8% Yes 24
 
 
64.2% No 43

Prior torture

23.9% Yes 16
 
 
11.9% No 8

Abduction preceding enforced disappearance/extrajudicial execution

98.5% Yes 66
 
 
1.5% No 1

Security officials informed witnesses where they were taking the victim

31.6% Yes 18
 
 
57.9% No 33

Witnesses to abduction

85.1% Yes 57
 
 
3.0% No 2

Victim abduction location

26.9% Victim’s residence 18
 
13.4% Roadside 9
 
10.4% Village fields 7
 
9.0% Friend/relative's residence 6
 
7.5% Police station 5
 
4.5% Shop/market 3
 
1.5% Checkpoint (naka) 1
 
1.5% Bus station/stand 1
 
22.4% Other 15
 

Detention facility type

Data forthcoming

Preceding detention location known

71.6% Yes 48
 
 
26.9% No 18

Witnesses to detention preceding enforced disappearance/extrajudicial execution

Data forthcoming

Security official response to victim status

17.9% Other 12
 
16.4% Denied involvement 11
 
14.9% Gave no response 10
 
14.9% Admitted extrajudicial execution with no explanation 10
 
9.0% Told family to go to another police station 6
 
4.5% Killed victim in an “encounter” 3
 
4.5% Victim had escaped 3
 
3.0% Admitted custody only 2
 

Victim presented before judge/magistrate

4.5% Yes 3
 
 
73.1% No 49

Enforced Disappearances vs. Extrajudicial Executions 

Classification

86.6% Extrajudicial executions 58
 
 
13.4% Enforced disappearances 9

Number of victims per family

71.6% 1 victim 48
 
16.4% 2 victim 11
 
6.0% 3 victim 4
 
1.5% 4 victim 1
 
4.5% 7 victim 3
 

Related incidents

3.0% Genuine encounters in family 2
 
 
97.0% No genuine encounters in family 65

Body Disposal 

Body disposal by security forces

26.9% Cremated the body 18
 
10.4% Dumped body in canal or river 7
 

Security forces returned body

3.0% Yes 2
 
0.0% Yes, but forced immediate cremation 0
 
83.6% No 56
 

Condition of corpse, if known

3.0% Bullet wounds 2
 
1.5% Other 1
 

Security Forces Implicated 

Names of involved security officials known

100.0% Yes 67
 
 
0.0% No 0

Security forces uniformed

82.5% Yes 47
 
 
5.3% No 3

Type(s) of security forces involved in abduction

89.6% Punjab Police 60
 
17.9% CRPF 12
 
13.4% Criminal Investigation Agency 9
 
4.5% Black cat 3
 
3.0% Other 2
 

Type(s) of security forces involved in extrajudicial execution

82.1% Punjab police 55
 
9.0% CRPF 6
 
4.5% Criminal Investigation Agency 3
 
1.5% Black cat 1
 

Militancy Involvement 

Combatant status

31.3% Combatant 21
 
 
68.7% Non-combatant 46

Non-combatant, provided support to militants

37.3% Yes 25
 
 
31.3% No 21

If provided support, support was voluntary

25.4% Yes 17
 
 
9.0% No 6

Remedies & Impact 

Approached court or commission

52.2% Yes 35
 
 
44.8% No 30

Approached security officials

56.7% Yes 38
 
 
41.8% No 28

Reason the family did not pursue any kind of action

40.3% Afraid of retaliation 27
 
16.4% Believed it would have been ineffective 11
 
6.0% Didn’t know what to do 4
 
3.0% Couldn’t afford 2
 
1.5% Other 1
 

Remedies desired from government

67.2% Criminal sanctions against those responsible 45
 
61.2% Monetary compensation to family 41
 
53.7% Public acknowledgement of wrongful deaths 36
 
49.3% Truth commission 33
 
44.8% Employment 30
 
28.4% Investigations into abuses 19
 
20.9% Memorial for victims 14
 
11.9% Rehabilitation services to family members 8
 
7.5% Other 5
 
1.5% Desire nothing from government 1
 

Year & District 

District

80.6% Amritsar 54
 
1.5% Fatehgarh Sahib 1
 
3.0% Gurdaspur 2
 
6.0% Hoshiarpur 4
 
7.5% Kapurthala 5
 

Year

0.0% 1981 0
 
0.0% 1982 0
 
0.0% 1983 0
 
0.0% 1984 0
 
0.0% 1985 0
 
0.0% 1986 0
 
0.0% 1987 0
 
1.5% 1988 1
 
4.5% 1989 3
 
3.0% 1990 2
 
6.0% 1991 4
 
58.2% 1992 39
 
22.4% 1993 15
 
3.0% 1994 2
 
1.5% 1995 1
 
0.0% 1996 0
 
0.0% 1997 0
 
0.0% 1998 0
 
0.0% 1999 0
 
0.0% 2000 0
 
0.0% 2001 0
 
0.0% 2002 0
 
0.0% 2003 0
 
0.0% 2004 0
 
0.0% 2005 0
 
0.0% 2006 0
 
0.0% 2007 0
 
0.0% 2012 0
 
0.0% Date Unknown 0
 

Boundaries based on the 2001 census. Read about our methodology.