Jupinderjit Singh
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, October 15
This is a facebook friendship most extraordinaire! A woman has travelled all the way to India from London to trace the memoirs of a Sikh inmate of a Kolkata Jail, who was behind bars for alleged links with an underworld don and some terrorist organisations and was killed by another inmate in May in the jail. The UK woman also wanted to know if Lily flowers bloomed from the seeds she sent him to plant him in the jail.
Paola Bhaartiya Barbuzzi is specifically interested in the auto-biography of Harpreet Singh, alias Happy Singh. She had sent him blank papers for writing his life’s story.
Though accused of serious crimes and links with terrorists and abduction at their behest, the deceased inmate was popular with jail staff and with Bengali and international media owing to the paintings and sculptors he made in the jail. He attained graduation and MBA degrees while in jail. He was pursuing a degree in law when he was killed. He also imparted yoga training to jail inmates.
Besides, he was also as a poet. He also wrote letters to the government, policemen and human rights activist on drug mafia and abuse of human rights in the jail.
Happy Singh accessed the internet illegally inside the jail and ran a Facebook account under the name of Amandeep through which he came in touch with Paola. “He was a remarkable man and had exceptional talent. I don’t want to go into the issue of whether he was a criminal or not but I be-friended a human being,” said Paola while talking to The Tribune today.
She was here to meet human rights activists and lawyers besides ex-DGP Shashi Kant for seeking help in getting justice for Happy and for safeguarding human rights of jail inmates. “Happy Singh had sent letters to Shashi Kant and others saying his life could be in danger as he was writing on police-criminal nexus which would expose the drug mafia,” she said.
“As he did not have stationery with him, I sent him papers for writing. But none of those were recovered from his cell. I have checked with his aged father and grandparents and two sisters who live in Rajouri Garden, New Delhi. They were not given any writings of Happy,” she said.
Paola is doing community service in London. “I was pursing human rights. I was in touch with a number of human rights activists of India, one of whom was fighting for Happy Singh. I was mesmerized by his paintings and sculptures. He told me about the pitiable condition of inmates in Indian jails. I wanted to do something for them through Happy Singh,” she said.
She recalls that she met him once in March last year. “I met him once in New Delhi where he had come for court hearing in a case against him,” she said, adding that ex-DGP Shashi Kant said Happy was probably killed at the behest of drug mafia. “I suspect that the police-mafia nexus got him killed. We are going to visit Kolkata to investigate the matter further, trace his auto-biography, complete or incomplete, besides approaching the National Human Rights Commission for a CBI inquiry into his death.”
Bhupinder Singh Gill, a Chandigarh based advocate, who is fighting Happy Singh’s case, said he convinced the aged father of Happy Singh with great difficulty to fight for justice.
Killed in Kolkata jail
Happy Singh was convicted in 2001 in an abduction case. He was lodged at Presidency Correctional Home in Kolkata. He was killed by another inmate, Nizammudin, who hit Happy with a brick in the head when he was imparting yoga training in the jail. Jail officials said Nizammudin was mentally unstable.
Bazz Singh Amandeep from Human Rights organization Swatantar Awaz Ludhiana is spearheading the fight for justice in the case, “He may be a criminal or not but he was a gifted artist who was killed in cold blood inside the jail,” he alleged. It was through Amandeep that Happy Singh had met Paola on the Facebook.
Paola said she would return to India soon for following the case.
(first published : http://www.tribuneindia.com/2014/20141016/main5.htm
1 comment:
baaz salutes you paola
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