A crude bomb was exploded at the Olympic park in Atlanta, killing one person and injuring more than 150, No organization or individual claimed responsibility for the action. The U.S. investigating agencies appear to remain clueless. Otherwise, some progress in the investigations would have been announced. Nevertheless, it is good that the U.S. authorities have not rushed into making wild guesses about the likely sources of the mischief.
Whosoever has exploded the bomb has done an irreparable damage to the cause of human rights of ordinary citizens. Their actions deserve to be condemned by all decent persons. Meanwhile, the U.S. authorities fortified security arrangements for K.P.S. Gill who happened to be at Atlanta heading the Indian hockey team. The issue here is not whether Gill’s security should be tightened or not. The question is: Why was Gill allowed to come to the U.S. in the first instance? Numerous human rights groups and journalists the world over held Gill guilty of countless human rights violations in Punjab. To cap it all came the observations by India’s highest judicial forum the Supreme Court revealing authentically for the first time that the Punjab police during Gill’s torture as its chief in 199095 cremated 984 unidentified bodies in Amritsar district.
The court described the incident as ‘“‘worse than genocide.” None but Gill could be responsible for the crimes, yet the U.S. administration allowed this criminal to come to the land of freedom and human rights to pollute it. Each and every individual in the U.S.A. knows Gill’s shady credentials. That is why no private airline gave Gill lift from New York to Atlanta. But surprisingly the U.S. administration was aloof. It is also worth investigating as to why Gill insisted on undertaking the long journey from Punjab to Atlanta when he is facing a criminal charge in court in Chandigarh. The court is about to pronounce its judgment on the charge against Gill that he attempted to outrage the modesty of a woman officer of Punjab in 1988. Gill was badly in need of international attention and patriotic Indian support to ward off an adverse judgment. The U.S. authorities must also keep in view this motive of Gill while investigating the crime in Atlanta.
Article extracted from this publication >> July 31, 1996
