Beyond Khalra: The forgotten story of advocate Kulwant Singh, his family’s killing and the shadow of SSP Ajit Singh Sandhu

Punjab News Express

Jul 9, 2026 - 03:16

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Beyond Khalra: The forgotten story of advocate Kulwant Singh, his family’s killing and the shadow of SSP Ajit Singh Sandhu

By Satinder Bains

CHANDIGARH: The film ‘Satluj’, which revisits the murder of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, has once again brought into focus one of the darkest chapters of Punjab’s militancy era — the allegations of excesses committed during counter-insurgency operations and the role of police officers who wielded extraordinary power during those turbulent years.

While the film highlights the killing of Khalra, who exposed the issue of unidentified bodies and alleged illegal cremations in Punjab, there were several other cases in which families alleged that the police machinery targeted those who challenged the system or provided legal assistance to militants and their families.

One such case was that of advocate Kulwant Singh of Ropar, whose killing remains one of the most disturbing allegations linked to the era of police operations under then SSP Ropar Ajit Singh Sandhu.

Kulwant Singh was a lawyer practising in Ropar who represented several people accused in militancy-related cases. At a time when many families of militants or suspected militants struggled to find legal representation, lawyers who took up such cases often came under suspicion.

According to allegations made by the family and human rights activists, Kulwant Singh became a target because he was fighting cases of those arrested under terrorism-related charges.

The allegations were that the police viewed lawyers defending militants as sympathisers rather than professionals performing their legal duty.

Kulwant Singh, his wife and their two-year-old son were killed in an incident that shocked human rights groups.

The family had alleged that they were targeted by the police. The killing became one of the examples cited by activists who accused sections of the Punjab Police of using excessive force and operating beyond the limits of law during the peak of militancy.