In the Punjab capital of Chandigarh Police Chief K.S. Dhillon told a news conference that extra troops had been sent to Punjab because authorities expect Sikh Hindu clashes to escalate as the June 47 anniversary of the Golden Temple attack nears, the United News of India reported.
Army units have been deployed across the state since the 1984 assault on the temple, the holiest of Sikh shrines.
Police said today that a Sikh arrested in connection with recent booby trap bomb blasts across northern India had committed suicide in a New Delhi police station.
Mohinder Pal Singh, 26, strangled himself with his turban in the bathroom shortly after his arrest Friday, an officer said. Many Sikhs take the last name of Singh, which means “lion.”
Singh was suspected of involvement in May 1011 bombings that killed 87 people in the capital and three neighboring states. More than 200 people were injured in the bomb explosions outside Punjab.
Meanwhile, authorities freed on bail three New Delhi based businessmen suspected of being members of a Sikh group which allegedly sent huge amounts of Indian money to Sikhs in Mexico, the Times of India reported today.
The Times identified the three businessmen as Raghbir Singh, Inderjit Singh and Hardeep Singh.
In the western state of Gujarat, police shot and killed four people, bringing the toll from three months of violence to at least 134, news reports said today.
Article extracted from this publication >> May 31, 1985
