Manpreet Kaur
Extrajudicial execution on August 31, 1991
Female, age 13
Demographics
Education
Primary school
Employment
Student
Married
No
Religion
Sikh, Kesdhari
Caste
Ramgarhia
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Prior Abuse
Prior detentions
No
Perceived reason for targeting victim
Victim was related to a militant
Body Disposal
Body returned
Yes
Cremation location
Village cremation ground
Condition of corpse
Bullet wounds; Burn marks
Bhog notice
Yes, Ajit, Tribune
Security Forces Implicated
Forces involved in extrajudicial execution
Officials involved in extrajudicial execution
Ajit Singh Poohla, Black cat, Chandigarh
Sumedh Singh [Saini], Senior Superintendent of Police, Chandigarh Police, Chandigarh
Militancy Involvement
Combatant
No
Militant support provided
No
Remedies & Impact
Security officials approached
No
Legal remedies pursued
No, Afraid of retaliation, Did not know what to do, Insufficient funds
Impact on family
Family member(s) dropped out of school, Family member(s) was mentally disturbed, Family became impoverished
Remedies desired from government
Monetary compensation to family; Rehabilitation services to family; Employment
Connected Victims
Extrajudicial executions/disappearances in family
3
Genuine encounters in family
Yes
Co-victims of extrajudicial execution
Family Reflections
Summary
Manpreet Kaur was a Ramgharia, Kesdhari Sikh, and a resident of village Jatana in Ropar. She was 13 years old when security forces killed her and three other family members. She was a student and was not a combatant. She had never provided any support to the militancy.
Security forces had never detained Manpreet Kaur prior to her killing. However, security forces had subjected her uncle and two other male family members to repeated illegal detention. Manpreet Kaur's family states they were targeted because her cousin was a militant.
On August 31, 1991, security forces from Chandigarh, led by Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Sumedh Singh (Saini), and including black cat (police agent) Ajit Singh Poohla, came to Manpreet Kaur's house and shot and killed her, her grandmother, her mother, and another young family member. According to her uncle, "Ajit Singh Phoola, the police tout, came to our house alongside police officials. The Granthi of our village saw the cars arriving. [They] came to our house and shot and killed my [family]. Then, [they] lit the house on fire."
In the morning, when villagers examined the house, the occupants were dead. Police officials blamed the killings on militants, and released Manpreet Kaur's uncle from detention. He stated, "I came and saw everything. Then, that very day, we performed the cremation of the salvaged bodies." The bodies had bullet wounds and burn marks on them. Police officials continued to visit family members and offer money if they would blame the militants. The family refused to do so. The family published a bhog notice for Manpreet Kaur in the Ajit and Tribune.
Surviving family members did not approach security officials or pursue legal remedies due to fear of retaliation, not knowing what to do, and insufficient funds. A young family member who had suffered repeated illegal detention dropped out of school, and suffered mentally; the family became impoverished. Family members desire monetary compensation for the abuses, rehabilitation services, and employment.
Note: Subdistrict and district boundaries are based on the 2001 census. Read more about our methodology.