CHANDIGARH, India Gunmen opened fire Friday in the crowded bazaar of Khanna in Punjab State, killing three people and wounding four after a five-day lull in violent attacks in the state, police said.
‘A suspect was arrested in the shooting. All the dead were believed to be Hindus.
Police in the state capital of Chandigarh said two on foot sprayed submachine-gun fire at crowds at about 7:45 p.m. Men identified as Ramesh Kumar, Mohinder Kumar and Pawan Kumar were killed and four people were injured as shoppers screamed and fled in panic, police said. They could not say if the dead men were related.
A large crowd gathered a short time later outside the hospital where the wounded were taken for treatment, shouting slogans condemning police.
The crowd later dispersed and the town was described as tense but under control.
Authorities imposed a curfew, bringing to 11 the number of Punjab localities under such restrictions, police said.
The attack came amid an intense security crackdown in the state implemented last weekend after the deaths of some 49 people between March 23 and March 29 in violent attacks. Sikhs are fighting for independence for predominantly Sikh Punjab.
Army units were placed on the alert and about 25,000 paramilitary troops have been deployed to help the moderate Sikh government of Chief Minister Sujit Singh Barnala curb an explosion of violence that has claimed dozens Of lives their year.
The bloodshed also created a domestic crisis for Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, who has pledged to help Barnala salvage an accord he signed last summer with the Chief Minister’s Akali Dal party aimed at meeting longstanding Sikh political and economic grievances.
Article extracted from this publication >> April 11, 1986
