NEW DELHI, Reuter. A Sikh group has claimed responsibility for the murder of India’s Former Army Chief and three atoned to kill other general’s involved in the army attack on the Sikhs holiest shrine, the Times of India newspaper said.
A special two man police team: from Bombay has arrived in Pune (Poona) after the assassination of Former Army Chief Arun Vidya, the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported. Vaidya, 60, was shot dead in his car by motorcycle riding gunmen in the major military center on Sunday.
The Time of India said the Khalistan Commando Force claimed the assassination and threat ended more killings in an unsigned letter in Amritsar,
Vaidya was army chief during the June 1984 attack on the Gold en Temple in Amritsar, during which 6,000 people were killed.
Last Friday, the self-styled com mender of the Khalistan Commando Force, Manbir Singh, was arrested by police at his Punjab hideout.
Maharashtra State Home Secretary (Interior Minister) P.V. Nayak said yesterday that security had been tightened around all VIPs and important installations in the State, PTI reported.
Nayak denied reports of lax security around Vaidya although Pune police Chief B.J. Misaradmit ted at a news conference that security had failed.
The Times of India earlier this week reported Vaidya had received threatening letters from
Khalistan. Khalistan, the land of the pure, is the separate homeland sought by Sikhs
The Times said authority’s suspected a leading Sikh Freedom Fighter, Hagjinder Singh, known as Jinda, was involved in the shooting. Jinda escaped from police custody in Ahmedabad in April, The Hindustan Times said another suspect was Sukhdev Singh who escaped from custody in April in Jullundur.
Article extracted from this publication >> August 15, 1986
