Ludhiana (December 18, 2010): Commenting upon reports of widespread and systematic torture being practised by India’s armed forces upon Kashmiri People, the Sikh Students Federation has claimed that India had indulged itself in committing “Crimes against Humanity”, no only in Kashmir but upon other people also who oppose India’s imperialist policies and want to live with dignity.

SSF’s National President, Parmjeet Singh Gazi, said: “It not is a naked truth that torture is widely and systematically practised by concerned Indian authorities in Kashmir and daily affairs of Indian forces in Kashmir are nothing less than international crime of “crime against humanity”.
He further added that the Sikhs in their homeland Punjab were subjected to similar techniques of brutal torture, at mass level, during 1980s-90s. Sikhs were killed in fake encounters, after subjecting them to inhumane torture, and were cremated as unidentified/unclaimed dead bodies. Various human rights bodies claim that number of persons so cremated rank more than twenty five thousand. All this has resulted in mass level abuse of human rights, claimed PS Gazi, who further claimed that inhumane and third degree torture continue to be daily affair in various police stations, especially CIA staffs of Punjab.
In a sharp reaction to India’s claim that it is a country “ruled by law” and all violations of human rights are addressed as per law in India; the SSF leader claimed: “Human Rights Commissions set up by India are white elephants, having no powers to stop human rights violations or punish the guilty”.

HRCs neither have any independent investigations agency, nor any powers to punish the culprits found guilty. They are vested merely with recommendatory powers. Moreover, given the situation of mass level abuse of human rights in India, independence and impartiality of such state organs is highly doubted.

The SSF leader insisted that international community should take initiative to investigations into reports of torture in Kashmir.