The haunting scene from the film, "Satluj", in which police personnel bring a still-breathing man to a hospital mortuary for post-mortem, has once again stirred memories of one of Punjab’s darkest chapters. The chilling episode, earlier depicted in the film "Leather Life", featuring veteran actor Om Puri, was not merely a work of cinematic imagination but a real-life incident that shocked the state in 1993.

Little known is that veteran Communist Party of India (CPI) leader Mahabir Singh Gill and his wife Baljit Kaur were among the key witnesses who exposed the case, bringing it to the attention of then prominent communist leader Satyapal Dang.

The revelations led to a landmark report in The Tribune⁠ under the headline, "Killed once, twice" on November 1, 1993. In a conversation with The Tribune, Gill recalled the disturbing incident and the struggle to ensure that the truth was not buried along with the victim.

“My wife was working as a nurse at the Civil Hospital, Patti, and we were given accommodation inside the hospital premises. It was early in the morning when the police brought two bodies to the hospital which were shifted to the mortuary,” he recalled.

While the helper was about to leave the mortuary, a hand suddenly gripped his shirt in the dark, followed by a voice asking for water. “The helper found that one of the two men was still breathing,” said Gill. He added that the doctor on duty shifted the injured man to the ward despite resistance by the police.

The victim was Sarabjit Singh from Baljit Kaur’s native village Valtoha. “Upon learning about it, I rushed to the hospital after which I tried to send a message to Sarabjit’s family. But the police led by SHO Sita Ram came back and took Sarabjit away,” said Gill.

“We all knew what would happen to him. So I rushed to send telegrams to the Chief Justice of India and the President so that the incident was brought on record. As expected, the police brought Sarabjit back again but this time he was really dead,” he recalled.

The telegrams, along with statements of Gill and others, were later used by the CBI to secure life imprisonment for Sita Ram in the case. For standing up against the atrocity, Gill had to face a false attempt-to-murder case and was forced to remain underground for a long period.

The CPI leader, when asked why he did not flinch from taking such a risk at a time when communist and Khalistani ideologies were at odds, said, “First of all, he was not a terrorist. And secondly, even if a person has committed a crime, such police action can never be justified.”

Gill recalled that as he returned to the hospital after sending telegrams, Sita Ram threatened him of dire consequences. “After the Supreme Court took notice of The Tribune news report and subsequent recording of our statements, Sita Ram was on my knees, pleading with me to save him.”