AMRITSAR: Thousands of Sikh villagers Tuesday blocked rail and demanding possession of the body of a freedom fighter Mankinder Singh.
Normal traffic resumed late in the afternoon when the authorities after a meeting with senior All India Sikh Students Federation leaders handed over the body to his relatives in his native Kamoke village.
Mankinder Singh alias Bikramjeet Singh Kamoke the Lt Gen and Area Commander of the Khalistan Commando Force was killed in a police encounter in Butala village late Monday.
He was wanted in about 50 cases and carried a reward of Rs $0,000 for his capture, district police chief KPS Gill said.
The situation had become highly sub charged when a slogan shouting gathering set fire to a Punjab Roadways bus after the passengers were asked to vacate it.
Rail traffic on the Amritsar Jalandhar section was also dislocated because of protests in Punjab.
A report from Chandigarh said demonstrators surrounded the Qadian police station in Batala district Tuesday to protest against the killing of two boys of the KCF in an encounter, official sources said.
A police spokesman said here that the two were killed in an “encounter” near Butter Kalan village.
Official sources said a group of people surrounded the police station demanding the bodies of the deceased, one of whom, Kulwant Singh belonged to Butter Kalan.
The second identified as Ranjit Singh alias Kala, carried a reward of Rs 30,000 for his capture. Protests were also staged Dharna outside Batala Sadar Police Station.
Article extracted from this publication >> June 8, 1990
