CHANDIGARH: Indian government authorities are reported to be planning to implicate S.G.P.C. chief Gurcharan Singh Tohra in the murder of a Mann Akali leader Baldev Singh Lang in Patiala district.
Chief Minister Beant Singh told newsmen here early this week that he had received a representation from the brother of Baldev Singh alleging the involvement of Gurcharan Singh Tohra in the murder. The chief minister said he had directed the home department to investigate the charge. Even before the deceased Alkali’s brother wrote to the chief minister the latter had publicly stated that the S.G.P.C. chief was the main villain of the piece in Punjab’s crisis. Tohra reacted to Beant Singh’s statement by forecasting that the government was taking steps to involve him in some criminal case.
Another significant development took place in between. Tohra returned all the guards provided to him by the state government saying that he was being spied upon by these guards.
Not long ago the Sikh militants had attacked S.G.P.C. chief injuring him seriously. After that development he had been making changes in the policy and pronouncements of the organization he heads. Tohra was instrumental in shaping Akalis’ policy of boycotting the February 1992 state Assembly election.
Interestingly Baldev Singh Lang’s brother made the allegation against the S.G.P.C. chief after one year of the incident. It is also significant that he personally handed over the representative to the chief minister. No other member of the family joined in making the allegation.
Lang it may be recalled was a loud-mouthed person who had issued a statement against militant’s particularly Dr. Sohan Singh describing him as a “government agent.” Lang was quite close to Simranjit Singh Mann. The latter had developed differences will the militant’s prior to Lang’s statement.
It may be mentioned here that certain members of Babbar Khalsa International had owned responsibility for the killing.
Article extracted from this publication >> May 29, 1992
