CHANDIGARH: The Punjab government will release 11,000 Sikh detainees to create a congenial atmosphere for polls in the State Governor Gen (Reid.) O P Malhotra said.
The Governor told a delegation of the coordination committee for resolving the Punjab problem that the release of Sikh detainees held under the orders of state government in Punjab and other states would be affected expeditiously on the guarantee of the village or concerned village leaders.
He told the delegation which had met Prime Minister on April 7 and April 19 in New Delhi that step would be initiated to ensure unhindered access of the devotees in to the golden temple in Amritsar.
The governor told the delegation Which called on him at the Raj Bhavan here that due care would be taken so that the security forces in the state did not go beyond their duties for enforcing law and order and did not harass innocent people.
The Governor assured the delegation that steps would be taken to complete the list of those killed in the 1984 Operation Blue Star and the same would be made available to the coordination committee.
All efforts would be made to recover and restore manuscripts and artifacts which were reported to have been missing from the Sikh reference library since 1984.
He requested the delegation to help the stale administration in restoring normalcy and an atmosphere of peace and tranquility so that the forthcoming elections to the Assembly and Lok Sabha were held in a free and fair manner and country’s unity was strengthened.
Article extracted from this publication >> April 26, 1991
