NEW DELHI, India: Gunmen killed eight people, six of them Hindus, in the Ferozepur district of troubled Punjab, police and news reports said Thursday.
Five Hindus were slain in a car early Wednesday and their bodies dumped along the road as the assailants escaped in the auto, a police spokesman reported from Chandigarh, the Punjab Capital.
The spokesman, who could be identified while briefing press, said the suspected gunmen also shot and killed a passing cyclist near the village of Chaksonia. The cyclist’s religion was not given.
The United News of India news agency reported two other slayings Wednesday night in the district along the border with Pakistan. It quoted police reports as saying one victim was a Sikh and the other a Hindu shot dead between the villages of Kailon and Hanori, It gave no details of the two incidents
On Wednesday, Punjab Chief Minister, Sugit Singh Barnala met with Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on efforts to stem the flight of Hindus from the Sikh-majority State, “We are making our best efforts to counter terrorism Barnala told reporters after the meeting.
Article extracted from this publication >> July 11, 1986
