AMRITSAR: Punjab police chief K.P.S.Gill who some time ago had claimed that panthic committee member Dr.Sohan Singh was dead stated at Amritsar recently that he may be alive and may be living in Pakistan. Observers here feel that Gills statement may be based on interrogation of Bhai Nishan Singh Makhu by the police. Indian authorities announced on Monday that Bhai Nishan Singh Manku had been killed in an encounter near Ferozepore. Actually according to reports circulating here Bhai Nishan Singh Makhu had been arrested by Indian police and following a pattern he was quickly done to death after his interrogation. Indian policy appears to be not to let any senior Sikh underground leader alive. That is precisely why Bhai Sukhdev Singh Sukha and Bhai Harjinder Singh Jinda were hanged without much of a trial. Similarly Bhai Sukhdev Singh Babbar was arrested and killed within 36 hours. Indian mercenary police chief further claimed that Bhai Daljit Singh Bittu and Bhai Mahal Singh Babbar too may be in Pakistan. Gill stated that another Babbar leader Bhai Wadhawa Singh had gone “underground” and was not in circulation. He also said that Baba Gurbachan Singh Manochahal was also in hiding. Bhai Makhu was not meeting his associates for quite some time according to Gill The police chief said that he was not aware of the Border Security Force chiefs claim that Pakistan had closed down or shifted the training camps for militants Pakistan was trying to smuggle in arms for Sikh militants through the Katch an Rajasthan borders. Gill also claimed that only 100 militants had been left to operate in Punjab while the police recently had killed about 200 of them.

Article extracted from this publication >> November 27, 1992