HRW also reported that the government response resulted in further serious human rights violations against "tens of thousands". HRW report in 1991 described the security forces using "increasingly brutal methods to stem the militant movement, resulting in widespread human rights violations." Thousands of civilians and suspected militants were summarily executed in staged "encounter" killings. Many "disappeared" while in police custody and thousands were detained without trial and subjected to torture. The post-1991 period coincides with Gill's second tenure as Director General of Punjab police. It is this period that witnessed the most serious escalation of violence.