CHANDIGARH: 127 people, including a top militant, a journalist and her husband, were killed in Punjab over the week and in communal clashes in Jalandhar city’s curfew bound areas several persons were injured.
The entire Tarn Taran belt, barring the town, and surrounding areas near the Indo Pak border ‘were put under indefinite night curfew in the wake of spurt in killing causing a mass exodus of people.
The curfew would remain in force for 10 hours daily.
Police used lathis and then fired several rounds in the air to disperse clashing mobs and rounded up some persons armed with swords, guns and batons.
The trouble began in Jalandhar when about 100 workers of Shiv Sena, a Hindu setup, were dispersing after the recitation of the Indian epic, Ramayana. They clashed with a group of persons of ‘another community.
Security forces shot dead Pritam Singh in an encounter near village Marsinghwala in Faridkot district.
Jyoti, a freelance journalist, and her husband, Dalip Singh, were kidnapped from their house in Amritsar Nov 27. Their bullet riddled bodies were found in Chattiwind area. A note said Dalip Singh was working as a “cat for the police”.
Jyoti was one of the 11 journalists who were entrapped in Amritsar’s golden temple during “operation black thunder” in 1988.
Security forces shot dead a militant in an encounter near village Sadhu Chack in Hoshiarpur district. One pistol, some cartridges and a scooter were found at the scene,
Militants shot dead three members of a family in Sidhwan village of Batala police district Nov 27. The victims were identified as Santa Singh, his wife Avinash Kaur and their son Gurmit Singh.
Three members of another family were killed in village Memsa under Dhuni police station in Sangrur district. The killed were Mara Singh, his wife and daughter.
Baldev Singh and Makha Singh were gunned down by the militants in Mudki village of Ferozepur district Nov 27.
Militants shot dead one Gulzar Singh in Sri Hargobindpur town of Batala district while the bullet ridden body of Sunjit Singh was picked up by police near Uppal village in the adjoining Gurdaspur district.
Four unidentified persons were found killed in Dubli village of Tarn Taran police district.
Two persons were shot near Dhuni in Sangrur district.
Twenty four persons were killed and passengers of a Ferozepur bound bus had providential escape while security forces repulsed a major militant attack on Nov 30.
Eight militants, two home guards and two newspaper hawkers were among the 24 killed.
A Punjab police spokesman said here Nov 30 that three unidentified militants were killed in an encounter with the security forces near village Bahuwal under Valtoha police district in Tarn Taran district. Some arms and ammunition were recovered from the spot.
Twenty one people, including top militant Nirmal Singh and four security men, were killed and five militants apprehended in Punjab since Nov 30.
Elsewhere in the state, militant’s robbed two banks of more than Rs one lakh while five people were bounded in a bomb explosion in Amritsar.
Militants gunned down two persons near Tharu village in Amritsar district Dec 1.
A report said five people were injured in a bomb blast in a house in Putli ghar area in Amritsar.
Article extracted from this publication >> December 7, 1990
