Shaheed Bhai Harbans Singh Valtoha

 

On 2nd October 1991, Bhai Harbans Singh was busy farming his fields in his home village of Valtoha, Patti, district Tarn Taran. Two Jhujaru Singhs came running past and were being chased by the Punjab police officers from the village of Varnala. One Jhujaru Singh, Bhai Balwant Singh Kalsan got shot and fell whilst running through the fields. The Punjab police picked him up but were eager to capture the second Jhujaru Singh too. The police began to raid and search nearby houses to track him down.

 

When the second Jhujaru Singh was nowhere to be found, the filthy Punjab police needed a replacement to show they had captured both. In this instant, Bhai Harbans Singh was at the wrong place wrong time, the police took one look at him in the fields and shot him dead. There was a huge uproar once the villagers found out about this. The police were left with no choice but to apologise and were asking for forgiveness. In the same breath, the police threatened the villagers and said if they further made this into a big deal, the police would claim they thought he was a terrorist and that’s why they shot him.

 

Still the next day, the lies covered the newspapers where it was stated that the police had caught two terrorists which included the name of Bhai Harbans Singh. Again, the villagers complained and counter-argued with the real version of the stories in the newspaper to tell that the police deliberately killed an innocent man who was busy minding his own business and farming his land. The Punjab police DSP of the time, DSP Sukhdev Singh Brar, was not following any law or order but sheer corruption and killed thousands in this way. Bhai Harbans Singh left behind three young sons and his wife. His wife struggled for many years raising the children on her own.

 

Information given by the family of Shaheed Bhai Harbans Singh Valtoha