Diljit Dosanjh teamed up with Ronnie Screwvala's RSVP Movies for the biopic of a prominent human rights activist, Jaswant Singh Khalra. Produced by Ronnie with Abhishek Chaubey and Honey Trehan, the yet-untitled film is ready for release but has hit an unexpected roadblock. According to a source, the makers are waiting for the CBFC to grant a certificate that will enable them to release the biopic in theatres.
"The makers have been waiting for censor clearance for the last six months. RSVP applied for the censor certificate in December 2022, and it was sent ahead to the review committee. The team shared all the necessary paperwork that was requested and went about the process with complete diligence, but with no solution forthcoming from the CBFC, they finally moved the Bombay High Court on Wednesday (June 14)," the source told.
Jaswant Singh Khalra was the director of a bank in Amritsar during the militancy period in Punjab who found evidence of abduction, elimination and cremation of thousands of unidentified bodies by the police. They reportedly even killed 2000 of their own officers who refused to collaborate in these extra-judicial operations. Khalra’s investigation sparked worldwide protests and led to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) concluding that the Punjab police had unlawfully cremated 2097 people in the Tarn Taran district of Punjab alone.
The Supreme Court of India and the National Human Rights Commission have certified the validity of his data. On September 6, 1995, Khalra himself disappeared. A case of murder, abduction and criminal conspiracy was registered on the complaint of his wife, Paramjit Kaur. Taking strong note of the “heinous crime” committed by four police officers in “eliminating” human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, active in bringing to light extra-judicial killings in the districts of Tarn Taran and Amritsar, Punjab and Haryana Court, on October 16, 2007, enhanced the sentences of the four accused, former head constable Prithipal Singh and former sub-inspectors Satnam Singh, Surinder Pal Singh and Jasbir Singh from seven years to life imprisonment.
The source further added, "The Jaswant Singh Khalra case is back in court, this time for a censor certificate. It will come up for hearing on July 4 and Ameet Naik heads the Khalra biopic legal team."
