CHANDIGARH: Militants continued to wreak vengeance on the relives of security men in Punjab, taking the number of reprisal killings to 48 after the killing of the Khalistan Liberation Force’ chief Gurjant Singh Budhsinghwala and ‘Babbar Khalsa International’ chief Sukhdev Singh Babbar by the police,

Reports received here said that militants struck in Majitha and Batala police districts recently, killing 17 kin of security men, in earlier strikes in the two police districts, they had gunned down 31 of them,

Elsewhere in Punjab, nine militants, including a self-styled Lt. General of ‘Khalistan Commando Force (Panjwar),’ and a policeman were killed,

First day: A group of about four militants went on a shooting spree, gunning down 26 people in four villages, situated at short distances from each other in Barnala police district (in Sangrur district),

According to initial reports, the group descended on Ganda Singh Wala village and shot dead Bant Singh and his two sons Jagtar and Amrik, both former police employees. Moving to Khudi village they gunned down two people, brothers of police employees Sarbjit Singh and Amarjit Singh, and two other civilians.

The group’s target was Tibba village where they shot dead Home Guard jawans Ajmer Singh and Manjit Singh and Bant Singh, father of a jail warden.

Militants also gunned down 14 relatives of policemen in Dalhat garh village in Barnala district. Their bodies were recovered from near the local government school,

In Badala village in Majitha police district in Amritsar, militants gunned down three constables and two of their relatives. First they entered the house of Vishwa Miter and gunned down his two gunmen (both constables) Sukhwinder Singh and Kashmir Singh-and seriously injured

Home Guard jawan Tarsem Singh. The assailants then went to the house of Sukha Ram and killed him, his wife Sitawanti and son, constable Kuldip Kumar.

Next day a group of 15 militants, wearing Army uniforms, raided Khera village in Batala police district and shot down five relatives of Vikram Chand Sharma, SHO of Batala city police station. The victims were Sharma’s father, Rattan Chand, brother, Jaspal Sharma, cousin, Satpal and nephews, Raman Kumar and Pawan Kumar. Another nephew of the SHO and his sister-in-law were injured in the attack.

In two separate incidents in Majitha police districts, militants gunned down 11 relatives of two constables. At village Baaj Singhwala, militants intruded into the house of constable Surjit Singh and mowed down his parents Mohinder Singh and Joginder Kaur, brothers Daljit Singh and Sarabjit Singh and sister Gurmeet Kaur. Militants also forced entry into the house of constable Balwant Singh at village Khayala Khurd and shot his parents Subegh Singh and Narinder Kaur, sister, Harjit Kaur and three other relatives identified as Kulwant Singh, Ajit Singh and Gurmit Singh.

A woman wounded in the incident disclosed that nobody opened the doors in four houses of interrelated families when militants knocked saying they had come in search of dreaded Babbar Khalsa militant Dharm Singh Kashtiwal.

She said the militants then sprayed the walls of their houses and took away all male members to the house of Muni Lal, a relative, where they were sprayed with bullets.

She said even as the militants were busy herding the male members, she jumped out from the first floor of the house and ran to the police picket, about 400 meters away. She said the policemen at the picket did not open the door despite her furious knocks and screams.

Head constable Amar Singh, in charge of the police picket, when contacted, said there were only three to four cops present in the picket, while others were out on ambushes. He said when they rushed to the sight, the militants had fled. ‘

Dreaded militant and Lt general of the ‘Khalistan Commando Force (Panjwar) Narain Singh and his one unidentified accomplice were shot dead in a fierce eight hour-long encounter at Warria village in Tarn Taran police district

Police said security forces raided a farm-house where the militants had taken shelter. The militants, on seeing the security men, fled into the nearby fodder fields, and opened fire.

 

Article extracted from this publication >> Aug 21, 1992