CHANDIGARAH, India, June 16, Reuter: Police have killed eight Sikh freedom fighters in four shootouts in the north Indian State of Punjab, state Police Chief Julio Ribeiro told Reuters today.
He said police patrols fired at the freedom fighters in four places in Amritsar and Faridkot districts along the border with Pakistan yesterday.
Security forces in Punjab were placed on red alert at the weekend after gunmen killed 14 people and wounded 20 in a shooting spree in New Delhi which included a submachine gun attack on a birthday party.
Ribeiro said four freedom fighters escaped during the fighting and police recovered two rifles, a stengun and two revolvers. The deaths bring the toll from violence this month to 51 in Punjab where Sikhs are fighting for an independent Sikh homeland.
Ribeiro described the shooting of the Sikhs as “part of the pressure we are building up against the Sikh struggle”.
He has led a crackdown on freedom fighters since Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi strengthened his hand last month by sacking Punjab’s puppet Sikh government and imposing direct rule on the Sikhmajority state from Delhi.
“Now we are better organized and receiving more information on Sikh activities,” Ribeiro said.
Article extracted from this publication >> June 19, 1987
