As the Bhagwant Singh Mann-led Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab prepares for perhaps the last session of the State Assembly on 23 October 2026 before the next Assembly elections, WSN editor Jagmohan Singh writes an Open Letter to the maverick CM of Punjab, Bhagwant Singh Mann, reminding him of his party’s commitment to the families of the four young men killed extrajudicially in the Saka Nakodar in 1986 and his personal promise to bring the guilty to justice.

Not so dear Chief Minister:

Banking on your pre-election promises, Bapu Baldev Singh and Mata Baldip Kaur -parents of Saka Nakodar martyr Bhai Ravinder Singh Littran- were enveloped with hope and expectation for justice for their son and his three brothers-in-faithHarminder Singh, Baldhir Singh andJhilman Singh.They and relatives of the other martyrs believed that the leaders who had previously raised Saka Nakodar in the Punjab Assembly would understand why this matter cannot be allowed to disappear and be forgotten.

Sick and tired of your umpteen promises and those of Punjab Assembly Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema, MLA from Nakodar Inderjit Kaur Mann and other MLAs who promised the moon but delivered nothing, totally aghast over the indifference, Baldev Singh publicly announced at Akal Takht last year that henceforth he would not knock on the doors of the Punjab government.

Bapu Baldev Singh was 39 years old when his 19-year-old son was killed. The parents of the other three martyrs have since passed. He has spent 4 decades pursuing all administrative, executive and judicial authorities. In his April 2026 testimony to the Select Committee of the Punjab State Assembly, he made his position painfully clear: he wants closure while he is alive.In the last days of your government, will your government provide that closure or a semblance of it?

To bestir your conscience, I write to you, not only on their behalf but also on behalf of everyone who respects the right to life.

It is mind-boggling and hurtful that the Select Committee, chaired by Chief Khalsa Diwan President and MLA Amritsar Dr Inderbir Singh Nijjar, tasked to examine the disappearance of Part II of the report, has not yielded results. In April 2026, the Home and Police Department reportedly appeared before the Select Committee and stated that they did not know how Part II of the Commission Report went missing. We need to know: How is evidence lost? Who lost it? Why cannot your government initiate steps on the Action Taken Report on the basis of Part I of the Justice Gurnam Singh Report?

You won the elections, giving hope to the people of Punjab, including the beleaguered families of the martyrs.  Sadly, the voices of reason and justice have fallen on deaf ears.

You have only offered lip service. Undoubtedly, truth, accountability and the rule of law are sacrificial goats at the altar of political expediency and political diktats from the Union government.

Your government’s SIT unabashedly told lies about the registration of cases and got away with it.The 2026 testimony records that an SIT was constituted in 2023 and that the Advocate General’s office subsequently represented to the High Court that four FIRs relating to the incident had been registered. Significantly, the testimony also records that subsequent RTI requests did not produce the new FIRs that had been sought and that the petitioner was not provided the findings of the SIT.

Bapu Baldev Singh was 39 years old when his 19-yeaWSAar-old son was killed. The parents of the other three martyrs have since passed. He has spent 4 decades pursuing all administrative, executive and judicial authorities. 

Part II contains sworn testimony, exhibits and other evidentiary material.  However, the disappearance of that material cannot become a convenient reason to postpone consideration of what is already available.Part I of the Justice Gurnam Singh Commission Report is not an unknown document. It has been available through the Punjab Vidhan Sabha Library. The 2026 testimony records that the Commission questioned the police version of events and concluded that the firing at Nakodar on 4 February 1986 was not justified and could have been avoided.

Like your predecessors in Punjab and others at the level of the Union government, you seem to forget that in matters of personal and collective justice. Perhaps this is the peculiar arithmetic of official accountability. Sikhs, however, have a long memory. As a people, we are infused with the diligence of Simon Wisenthall, who hunted down Nazi killers and those who assisted, cooperated or served them.

Let me assure you that while you may not do anything at all, the fact that justice was not served would be told and retold through generations of Sikhs till justice is done.

A government can say:“We need more time.”

A committee can say:“We are looking into it.”

A department can say:“We do not know.”

A file can be marked:“Pending.”

A father cannot put off his grief and file the angst: “Pending.”

A family cannot postpone mourning for another administrative cycle.

A dead young man and his brethren cannot wait for the next government.

So, before your government leaves office, please do not give these families another false assurance. Do not tell an ageing father who has waited forty years that he needs to wait a little longer.Please do not allow their final witness—the father of Ravinder Singh—to leave this world without an answer.

A gov­ern­ment can say: “We need more time.” A com­mit­tee can say: “We are look­ing into it.” A de­part­ment can say: “We do not know.” A file can be marked: “Pend­ing.” A fa­ther can­not put off his grief and file the angst: “Pend­ing.” A fam­ily can­not post­pone mourn­ing for an­other ad­min­is­tra­tive cy­cle. A dead young man and his brethren can­not wait for the next gov­ern­ment.

Before you demit office, look up in the mirror, feel a little remorse, a little shame and a little fear of Akal Purakh and give the families the truth that they are waiting for.

Indulgingly yours

Jagmohan Singh
Editor, The World Sikh News