AMRITSAR: Director General of police O.P. Sharma said here last week that militant leaders operating from Pakistan were now recruiting Sikh youth from European countries where they went in search of jobs.

Talking to reporters, the new DGP. Said after recruitments from Punjab had stopped, the militant leaders had been keeping an eye on youths going abroad. “Either they (youths) are found travelling on fake documents, that makes them an easy prey to militant propaganda, or al times their papers ‘fare seized by the militant leaders to force them into militancy.”

He said in the Beant Singh assassination case, two youths, Heera and Jeeta, were identified to be from among such people. The militant leaders, in connivance with the Afghan mercenaries, evolved a strategy in June last year at Lahore to undertake target killings and to engage more dedicated youths in the operations, Mr. Sharma said 35 highly operations, trained youths entered the country that month. They included the gang members involved in the Beant Singh case. A huge quaintly of RDX was also smuggled into the state. The DOP, however, refused w specify the quantity of smuggled RDX, but confirmed that the recent seizures made by the Lodhiana and Patiala police were part of it.

He said eight of the35 militants had been arrested and efforts were on to apprehend the rest, the remaining militants were moving around in Haryana, Punjab, Chandigarh and Delhi, as suggested by intelligence reports.

The DGP said many of the new recruits entered India via Kathmandu. “They travel like ordinary tourists and even change their names to hide their identity,” Mr, Sharma said. The new lot of militants, he said, was more committed and dedicated as was indicated by the human bomb concept introduced in Punjab militancy.

He admitted that the threat from militants was still looming large and “our efforts would be to maintain peace and consolidate.”

Mr. Sharma said militants in Pakistan had formed a wider group that included Afghan mercenaries and Kashmiri militant leaders to cause law and order problems in various parts of the country. He said a new organization; Khalistan and Kashmir International (K & KI) had been constituted by them in Pakistan to make their operations more effective.

Mr. Sharma, who was on his first visit to the city after succeeding Mr, KP.S. Gill recently, earlier held a meeting of senior officers of Gurdaspur, Batala, Majitha, Tarn Taran and Amritsar districts.

Article extracted from this publication >>  January 17, 1996