BAHRAIN (PTI): The recent spate of attacks on Sikhs in Kuwait has apparently left the authorities both confused and worked over this new trend of political crime in the Sheikhdom. The oil-rich Sheikhdom in the past few months has witnessed at Least three criminal attacks targeting the Sikh community and their property. The latest being on Jan.23 when unknown assailants sprayed bullets in a car in which four Sikhs were travelling killing one of them Manmohan Singh Anand in Salmiya area of Kuwait.
Jaspal Bassan the driver of the attacked car was shot in the right foot Pramjit Singh was grazed in the head while a third survivor Jaspal Singh Chadha escaped unscratched.
In other incidents of arson a shop belonging to a Sikh was burnt down and on Nov 3 last year a Sikh was found dead.
The Indian Embassy sources also disclosed that in November last labour 20 Sikhs were detained and later released by the authorities without any reason being given.
The Kuwaiti authorities are of the view that the attacks seemed to be the handiwork of some highly professional group. Senior officials at Kuwait’s interior ministry are baffled over the incidents specially because the attackers have left no trace of either their identity or their motive.
Kuwaiti officials including the deputy prime minister and foreign minister Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmed Al Sabah have assured the members of the Indian community numbering about 1.5 lakh of their safety and well-being.
The assurance came when Indian ambassador Prem Singh took up the matter with him and other officials in the ministry of interior The security forces have been pull On Alert and investigations are on into the incidents to book the culprit sources at the Indian Embassy quoted the officials as saying Worried Indian Embassy officials quoted a senior inventor ministry officials as Saying that though they are new to this kind of political crime they are according it utmost importance and investigating into it.
Article extracted from this publication >> February 11, 1994
