Visiting Punjab
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has been hit by a federal lawsuit by
a Sikh human rights group alleging that he oversaw the torture of
Sikhs in India.
The US District Court for the Eastern District
of Wisconsin Wednesday issued summons against Badal on a 30-page
complaint filed by Avtar Singh of New York, who lists himself as
coordinator of Sikhs for Justice (SFJ).
The lawsuit contends that
Badal had shielded police officials who inflicted custodial torture
and were responsible for the extra judicial killings and continuous
human rights violations against the Sikh community in Punjab.
It
claims the federal court has jurisdiction under the Torture Victim
Protection and Alien Tort laws, and because Badal is currently in
Wisconsin.
The court summons give Badal, who has been chief
minister of Punjab for more than 12 years from 1997 till 2002 and from
2007 till present, 21 days to answer the charges.
The lawsuit against Badal seeks jury trial.
"The
lawsuit will raise awareness to the international community regarding
the torture and extrajudicial killings of Sikhs in the state of Punjab
by the security forces," said SFJ attorney Gurpatwant Pannun.
It
"will send a strong message to political leaders that they will not be
able to visit United States without being answerable to the
international laws and the courts for their role in gross human rights
violations", he added.
Badal arrived in Milwaukee Tuesday on a
previously planned the trip to attend the wedding of businessman Darshan
Dhaliwal's daughter on the weekend, before Sunday's attack on
worshippers at the Sikh gurdwara in Oak Creek.
Badal visited with
victims' families Wednesday. He declined to comment about the suit,
saying he hadn't seen it, according to Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
