AMRITSAR, India: Gunmen sprayed machine gunfire at an outdoor congregation assembled for pre Diwali of ferings early on Tuesday, October 28, 1986, killing three people and seriously wounding five, said a Punjab police spokesman. The attack took place in village Dharmakot Bagga near Batala in North Punjab, The killers escaped on foot.
The shops, business establishments and factories in Batala town were closed in protest against the killings, addressing an army convention in Delhi, Mr. Rajiv Gandhi expressed concern at the worsening Punjab situation and hinted that tighted security measures would be taken to control violence there.
Meanwhile a local Congress (I) leader, Mr. Sewa Singh Bhinder was shot dead near Gurdaspur, He was attacked by two gunmen when he was going for his morning stroll. Mr. Bhinder was a close relation of a former Punjab Police Chief Mr. Singh Bhinder.
In another attack in Sangrur district Sikh priest and his disciple ‘were gunned down. The priest was suspected to be a police informer and was active against the Sikh freedom fighters.
Gurdaspur district Police Chief Mr. J.P. Virdi told reporters that the latest wave of violence in state ‘was unleashed by a group of fifty Sikhs who had crossed over to India after their training in Pakistan. The statement of Mr. Virdi was dismissed as the usual explanation of the Security forces to cover their own failure in meeting the challenge.
Article extracted from this publication >> October 31, 1986
