Jaswant Singh Khalra’s life and sacrifice are back in the news with a fresh ban on the telecast of the movie “Satluj” (earlier titled “Punjab 95”), based on his life. As a reporter for The Tribune in Tarn Taran since 1984, I am among the few journalists who met and interacted with him.

In fact, I once informed him directly about the threat to his life. It was an afternoon in early August 1995. I was standing near Maharaja Ranjit Singh Public School on Tarn Taran’s main road when Khalra, driving his trademark open jeep, stopped to talk to me.

I had been covering his press conferences as well as reporting police statements issued against him.

He spotted me and stopped his car. I went up to him and exchanged pleasantries. Khalra was much in the news for his claims about the cremation of 25,000 unclaimed bodies by the Punjab Police. I cautioned him to be careful.

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Referring to a conversation a senior police officer had with me while briefing about a police case, I told Khalra that the officer had sent a coded warning. The officer referred to Gurbani in a veiled warning, “Tell him (Jaswant) jo adde so jharre, sharan pare so tarre”. It meant “those who resist, they fall, but those who seek refuge are saved.” The officer wanted to convey that those who had stood up against the Punjab Police had fallen but those who sought their refuge were saved. Khalra did not blink once and smiled. He too quoted Gurbani in his reply to the officer, “Jo sharan aaye, tiss kanth laaye (whoever comes seeking refuge, He embraces them).”

Khalra meant that he had already sought refuge from God, who had embraced him; thus, he was not worried about his death.

He added that it would not be easy for the police to eliminate him through a routine fake encounter as the issue had already gained international attention in England and the USA. He was prepared to sacrifice himself for the truth. That was the last time I saw him.

On August 31, 1995, then Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh was assassinated. The Punjab Police picked up many people on suspicion.

On September 6, Khalra was kidnapped from outside his house in Amritsar by men in plain clothes. He was never seen again