Chandigarh — The Punjab police will interrogate Kashmira Singh a Canadian citizen and four suspected activists from Punjab who were arrested in Patna last week.
According to reports, they were arrested apparently as a security measure in connection with the Prime Minister, Mr. Rajiv Gandhi’s visit to Bihar. Three Danes were also detained at Bokaro. The Punjab Government has been apprised of these arrests.
According to informed sources, the Amritsar senior superintendent of police, Mr. Bua Singh, has been asked to depute a team of CID personnel to interrogate the suspects, including Kashmira Singh and four others who were reportedly arrested from Takht Harmandir Sahib at Patna. They are said to be Karen Singh, Vir Singh, Chandan Singh and Gurbakhash Singh belonging to Ludhiana and Gurdaspur districts. Kashmira Singh had allegedly entered India without an Indian visa. It was reportedly on his information that the four others were traced in the Patna temple.
A large number of suspected activists who had escaped from Punjab after the Army action in June last year were hiding in other states. It is suspected that some of them who had clandestinely reached Pakistan had reentered India through Nepal. The intelligence agencies hope to get clues to their hideouts from interrogation of those arrested in Patna.
The Punjab Government is said to be of the view that the BSF personnel deployed along the border with Pakistan should be thoroughly screened to eliminate sympathizers of activists, secretly moving between India and Pakistan.
Meanwhile, burning of school buildings by suspected activists in Jalandhar district continues.
Article extracted from this publication >> March 8, 1985
