Indian Police High-handedness.......

For Bhai Balbir Singh Bains, a UK resident for 25 years, his last visit to his motherland (in 1999), turned out to be a nightmare, separating him from his family, including his mentally and physically challenged daughter.

His is the story of victimisation, false imprisonment and frustrating delays. He faced brutal treatment at the hands of the Indian authorities as well as the British Home Office.

Wrongfully imprisoned in June 1999 by the Indian authorities on the charge of “terrorism”, he was physically and psychologically tortured.

After three years in jail without a conviction, he was subsequently found innocent of all charges, which were declared improper and unjust by Delhi’s Special Court. Whilst exonerating him, Judge said in his final judgement: “A balloon of falsehoods…the prosecution story stands falsified…It is well said that a lie does not have legs to stand on…Accordingly, I acquit the accused of the charges framed against him.”

It was even more shocking when shortly afterwards, an internal investigation conducted by the Intelligence Bureau (I.B) proved that the RDX explosives allegedly ‘found’ on Bhai Balbir Singh’s person were, in fact, from an operation unit of the police.”

After his acquittal in May 2002 Bhai Balbir Singh Bains expected to be immediately reunited with his long-suffering family. However, to his horror, he discovered that he was yet to face another two years of heart-wrenching separation from his wife and five children. Since the UK Home Office continued to consider him a threat to national security.

Mrs Manjit Kaur Gill From Gravesend, who represented Bhai Balbir Singh Bains, appealed to the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) on August 18, 2003, against the decision not to allow him into the UK for reasons of national security. Substantive evidence in response to the Secretary of States evidence was filed in June 2004 as a result of which the Home Office had no option but to withdraw the case against him and issue him a returning resident visa to the UK.

I believe Bhai Balbir Singh is now suing the Delhi Police for over Rupees 1.5 corore that is Rs. 15,000,000 (15 milliones) due to which this incident has surfaced again in lime light.