AMRITSAR, Punjab, India: March 5, Reuter: At least five more people were killed in the strife torn Indian state of Punjab, where gunmen massacred 34 villagers, mostly Hindus, on Thursday night, the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported.
The new killings were reported as most big towns in Punjab were shut down by a general strike called by Hindu revivalist groups to protest against the carnage, the worst this year.
PTI said gunmen shot dead three people in a village in Gurdaspur district on Saturday morning. And two freedom fighters were killed by security forces near Amritsar on Friday night.
At least 317 people have been killed in Punjab this year compared with 1,200 last year and 640 in 1986.
Police and political sources in the Sikh holy city of Amritsar and Chandigarh, the State capital, said all shops, offices, schools and colleges were closed in most of the big towns.
Article extracted from this publication >> March 11, 1988
