New Delhi, August 24
Former Director-General of Police, Mr K P S Gill, and other senior officials should be prosecuted for crimes against innocent persons during militancy, said Khalistan idealogue Dr Jagjit Singh Chohan, here today.

“Police personnel merely carried out the order. Those who gave the orders should be prosecuted like the war crimes tribunal probing the crimes against humanity in Bosnia,” Mr J.S. Chohan told The Tribune.

The International Court of Justice at the Hague is trying the former Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic for war crimes in Bosnia.

The Khalistan idealogue, who returned to the country after his self-imposed exile following a prolonged legal battle , said an inquiry should be ordered to go into who gave the orders to massacre innocent persons.

The CBI, has started action in the case registered under the Unlawful Activities (prevention) Act against Dr J.S. Chohan for committing, advocating, inciting and taking part in unlawful activities in foreign countries.

Earlier nine cases were registered by the Punjab government against him. He was convicted in one case, discharged in another and seven cases were submitted as untraced. The state government is reviewing these seven cases.

Dr Chohan, however, stated that he had no information on the action in the case by the CBI.

He said the CBI, had probed the case of recovery of mass graves, which was being looked into by the National Human Rights Commission named the involvement of several senior police officials and they should be prosecuted.

Mr Chohan said amnesty to police personnel would be like “giving more powers to the persons in uniform” and “a reign of terror would prevail.”

Hinting that Union Home Minister, Lal Krishan Advani’s move was a political one to garner mileage in the forthcoming Assembly elections in the state, Mr Chohan, a former Punjab State Finance Minister, said “it is a politically wrong move.”

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, who had meeting with Mr Advani on Thursday, felt that blanket amnesty to police personnel at this juncture for alleged acts of omission and commission in the fight against militancy would be highly counter-productive.

On Sunday Mr Advani in Jalandhar said the Centre was contemplating a comprehensive plan to provide maximum relief to those Punjab police officials, facing trial in different courts for alleged excesses committed during militancy.

He, however, ruled out the possibility of granting general amnesty to those terrorists, who had shifted to western countries during militancy under the alleged threat of elimination by the security forces.

The Union Home Minister said failure on the part of the Centre to protect their (security forces) interests might have serious repercussions on the morale of security forces, including the BSF and paramilitary troops, still fighting insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir and in the North-East.

Cases under different sections for Human Rights violations were slapped against 700 Punjab Police personnel during militancy.

Earlier talking to reporters, medical practioner turned ideologue of a separate Sikh state, said he was renouncing the idea of Sikh secessionism that he had preached from Britain.

He advocated a secular concept of Khalistan, denouncing the terrorist violence in Punjab and pledged to sacrifice his life to maintain peace and harmony in the state.