HON. JOHN T. DOOLITTLE
in the House of Representatives
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2000
•Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. Speaker, I was distressed to hear that Mandeep Pal Singh Sodhi, a 27-year-old Sikh man, burned himself to death in front of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly building. His self-immolation was reported in the Hindustan Times on January 11. He was protesting police brutality against his family. Mandeep Pal Singh Sodhi's brothers were detained and brutalized by police. Their mother was promised an inquiry, but nothing happened.
•Recently, the Committee for Coordination on Disappearances in Punjab, led by Hindu human rights activist Ram Narayan Kumar, issued a preliminary report that included the names and addresses of 838 Sikhs who were picked up, tortured, murdered, and secretly disposed of by the police. According to figures compiled by the Punjab State Magistracy and by human rights groups, the Indian government has killed over a quarter of a million Sikhs since 1984.
•It is not just Sikhs who have suffered this kind of oppression. The Indian government has victimized Christians, Muslims, Dalits, and others. Groups associated with the ruling BJP have burned down Christian churches and prayer halls. Allies of the government have murdered nuns, priests, and missionaries.
•The self-immolation of Mandeep Pal Singh Sodhi should serve as a wake-up call to the country that proudly proclaims itself `the world's largest democracy.' It should serve as a call to India to begin living up to the democratic principles that it proclaims. India must stop this police brutality and release its political prisoners. It must hold a free and fair internationally-supervised plebiscite on the issue of independence in Khalistan, Kashmir, Nagaland, and wherever else people within India are struggling for freedom. Until then, the U.S. should stop its aid to India and encourage it to act like the democratic country it claims to be.
•Mr. Speaker, I would like to submit the Hindustan Times article into the Record.
[FROM THE HINDUSTAN TIMES, JAN. 11, 2000]
(BY BHUPENDRA PANDEY)
Lucknow, January 10--Motorists, pedestrians and policemen watched in shock as a young man, allegedly because of police harassment, immolated himself on the busy road opposite the Vidhan Sabha on Monday afternoon.
The 27-year-old youth, identified as Mandeep Pal Singh Sodhi, a resident of Krishna Nagar, suffered 70 per cent burns and died on way to hospital.
Later, the police inspector posted at Krishna Nagar was sent to the police lines for illegally detaining the deceased's brother and harassing his family members. Chief Minister Ram Prakash Gupta has announced a financial assistance of Rs 1 lakh to the dependents of the victim. The District Magistrate of Lucknow has directed the ADM, City, to probe the incident.
According to eyewitnesses, Mandeep got off a bus near the Royal Hotel intersection and doused himself with kerosene. Then, he went towards the Assembly and set himself on fire and started running. Soon, he was transformed into a ball of fire.
After he collapsed and lay writhing on the road, three policemen tried feebly to rescue him. Others also joined them, but by then Mandeep had already suffered excessive burns.
Thereafter, he was taken to the nearby Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Hospital from where he was referred to the KGMC. But he succumbed to burn injuries on the way.
Initially, policemen were unable to identify the youth but later found a slip of paper tucked in his shoes. According to it, Mandeep ran a small chemists shop outside a private nursing home in Krishna Nagar.
Meanwhile, Mandeep's mother, Mrs. Manpreet Kaur, has accused the police of forcing her son to commit suicide. `Fed up with police harassment, my son committed suicide,' she said.
According to her, her husband, Surendra Pal Singh, who died five years ago, ran a flourishing transport business. But it ran into tough times after his death. She said that her tale of woes began a year ago when the SO of Sarojini Nagar raided her house and detained her two sons, Yashpal and Inderpal, without specifying the charges. Later, they were booked in a case of a motorcycle theft. In March last year, the two were again booked in a case of another motorcycle theft and jailed. The two brothers were also booked under the Gangster Act.
Mrs. Kaur said that she had earlier met then Chief Minister Kalyan Singh and also the Circle Officer of Sarojini Nagar. She had been assured of an inquiry into the matter. But nothing happened. In fact, Yashpal was picked again on Saturday night in connection with a recent case of motorcycle theft in Krishna Nagar.
Today, Mrs. Kaur decided to complain to the District Magistrate and despite Mandeep's request to her to stay at home, she left for the DM's office. Soon after Mandeep too boarded a bus for the Vidhan Sabha.
Mrs. Kaur learnt about her son's immolation in the afternoon when she came home after meeting the DM. Yashpal was released by the police following the DM's intervention.
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You can hate me now...
But I won't stop now...
in the House of Representatives
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2000
•Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. Speaker, I was distressed to hear that Mandeep Pal Singh Sodhi, a 27-year-old Sikh man, burned himself to death in front of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly building. His self-immolation was reported in the Hindustan Times on January 11. He was protesting police brutality against his family. Mandeep Pal Singh Sodhi's brothers were detained and brutalized by police. Their mother was promised an inquiry, but nothing happened.
•Recently, the Committee for Coordination on Disappearances in Punjab, led by Hindu human rights activist Ram Narayan Kumar, issued a preliminary report that included the names and addresses of 838 Sikhs who were picked up, tortured, murdered, and secretly disposed of by the police. According to figures compiled by the Punjab State Magistracy and by human rights groups, the Indian government has killed over a quarter of a million Sikhs since 1984.
•It is not just Sikhs who have suffered this kind of oppression. The Indian government has victimized Christians, Muslims, Dalits, and others. Groups associated with the ruling BJP have burned down Christian churches and prayer halls. Allies of the government have murdered nuns, priests, and missionaries.
•The self-immolation of Mandeep Pal Singh Sodhi should serve as a wake-up call to the country that proudly proclaims itself `the world's largest democracy.' It should serve as a call to India to begin living up to the democratic principles that it proclaims. India must stop this police brutality and release its political prisoners. It must hold a free and fair internationally-supervised plebiscite on the issue of independence in Khalistan, Kashmir, Nagaland, and wherever else people within India are struggling for freedom. Until then, the U.S. should stop its aid to India and encourage it to act like the democratic country it claims to be.
•Mr. Speaker, I would like to submit the Hindustan Times article into the Record.
[FROM THE HINDUSTAN TIMES, JAN. 11, 2000]
(BY BHUPENDRA PANDEY)
Lucknow, January 10--Motorists, pedestrians and policemen watched in shock as a young man, allegedly because of police harassment, immolated himself on the busy road opposite the Vidhan Sabha on Monday afternoon.
The 27-year-old youth, identified as Mandeep Pal Singh Sodhi, a resident of Krishna Nagar, suffered 70 per cent burns and died on way to hospital.
Later, the police inspector posted at Krishna Nagar was sent to the police lines for illegally detaining the deceased's brother and harassing his family members. Chief Minister Ram Prakash Gupta has announced a financial assistance of Rs 1 lakh to the dependents of the victim. The District Magistrate of Lucknow has directed the ADM, City, to probe the incident.
According to eyewitnesses, Mandeep got off a bus near the Royal Hotel intersection and doused himself with kerosene. Then, he went towards the Assembly and set himself on fire and started running. Soon, he was transformed into a ball of fire.
After he collapsed and lay writhing on the road, three policemen tried feebly to rescue him. Others also joined them, but by then Mandeep had already suffered excessive burns.
Thereafter, he was taken to the nearby Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Hospital from where he was referred to the KGMC. But he succumbed to burn injuries on the way.
Initially, policemen were unable to identify the youth but later found a slip of paper tucked in his shoes. According to it, Mandeep ran a small chemists shop outside a private nursing home in Krishna Nagar.
Meanwhile, Mandeep's mother, Mrs. Manpreet Kaur, has accused the police of forcing her son to commit suicide. `Fed up with police harassment, my son committed suicide,' she said.
According to her, her husband, Surendra Pal Singh, who died five years ago, ran a flourishing transport business. But it ran into tough times after his death. She said that her tale of woes began a year ago when the SO of Sarojini Nagar raided her house and detained her two sons, Yashpal and Inderpal, without specifying the charges. Later, they were booked in a case of a motorcycle theft. In March last year, the two were again booked in a case of another motorcycle theft and jailed. The two brothers were also booked under the Gangster Act.
Mrs. Kaur said that she had earlier met then Chief Minister Kalyan Singh and also the Circle Officer of Sarojini Nagar. She had been assured of an inquiry into the matter. But nothing happened. In fact, Yashpal was picked again on Saturday night in connection with a recent case of motorcycle theft in Krishna Nagar.
Today, Mrs. Kaur decided to complain to the District Magistrate and despite Mandeep's request to her to stay at home, she left for the DM's office. Soon after Mandeep too boarded a bus for the Vidhan Sabha.
Mrs. Kaur learnt about her son's immolation in the afternoon when she came home after meeting the DM. Yashpal was released by the police following the DM's intervention.
------------------
You can hate me now...
But I won't stop now...
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