Punjab 95: Diljit Dosanjh to play Jaswant Singh Khalra, who exposed thousands of murders

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A lot of chatter is going around the movie's release, with many debating over why it is facing so much delay. Recently, it was reported that CBFC has suggested over 120 cuts in the movie. However, later, many inside sources claimed that the movie got the thumbs up from CBFC and would finally hit the screen in February. However, nothing has been confirmed on the release date yet.

As the audience waits for the release, here we have curated all the details about who was Jaswant Singh Khalra? The person on whom the movie is based.

Who was Jaswant Singh Khalra?

Jaswant Singh Khalra was a human rights activist was kidnapped and subsequently murdered in 1995.

After Operation Blue Star, which led to the assassination of Indira Gandhi, and the 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots, the police were empowered to detain the suspects. Using the given power, the police back then illegally detained and tortured innocents on the pretext of being militants.

Bravely speaking up against the illegal activities and killings, Khalra fought against the human rights abuses in Punjab during the insurgency period, when several armed campaigns took place by the militants of the Khalistan Movement.

Notably, he was known for uncovering the illegal murder and cremation of Sikhs by the Punjab Police.

Working on the atrocities taking place, he investigated four major cases about the cremation of 25,000 unidentified bodies in Punjab, and the murder of around 2,000 police officers who didn't cooperate with the other police officers. Later, the Union government's investigative agency, the CBI, also revealed that police had unlawfully cremated 2,097 people in Tarn Taran district alone.

As an advocate of human rights in Punjab, Khalra travelled across the world and spoke at several international human rights organizations.

Kidnapped and murdered

Tragically, Khalra was kidnapped from his home in the city of Amritsar on September 6, 1995, when he was washing his car in front of his house. It has been said that the Punjab Police abducted, detained, and tortured him for almost two months before they murdered him in Oct 1995. His body was dumped in a canal.

In 1996, the CBI found proof of Khalra being kept at a Tarn Taran police station. In the report, they recommended that nine Punjab police officers be charged with the kidnapping and murder. Ten years after Khalra's death, six Punjab police officials were convicted in 2005. Two defendants, Deputy Superintendent Jaspal Singh and Amarjit Singh, were sentenced to life imprisonment.

Khalra's wife, Paramjit Kaur Khalra, carried forward her husband's work and legacy. He was posthumously awarded the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award in 1997.

(With inputs from agencies)