Why was Bhindranwale’s arrest warrant issued?
Date- 9 September 1981. Place- Jalandhar city of Punjab. Lala Jagat Narayan, founder of Hind Samachar Group and famous journalist, is shot dead. The name of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale came to the fore in this sensational murder case. After this the Punjab Police got involved in his arrest. An arrest warrant was issued on 12 September. A police team was sent to Hisar in Haryana under the leadership of DIG DS Mangat. Input was received that Bhindranwale is in Chandokala here. But Bhindranwale fled from there before the police arrived. He reached Mehta Chowk in Amritsar overnight. Ramesh Inder Singh, former IAS and Deputy Commissioner of Amritsar, has written a book on the situation in Punjab at that time.Turmoil in PunjabIt is written In this, he has written that Bhindranwale refused to arrest DIG JS Anand at that time. DIG Anand getting his beard cut was one of the reasons behind this. Bhindranwale demanded surrender in front of a ‘pure’ Sikh officer.
Why Punjab Police could not find Bhindranwala connection of Amritpal Singh Arrest
4 killed in Jalandhar as soon as Bhindranwale surrendered
On 20 September 1981, Bhindranwale agreed to surrender. The day Bhindranwale surrendered, terrorists fired indiscriminately and killed four people in Jalandhar. It is said that this was the first case of such attack by terrorists in Punjab. According to Ramesh Inder Singh’s bookFor arrest, Bhindranwale put a condition of going to the Golden Temple and taking a dip in the holy lake. Before dawn on 20 September 1981, Bhindranwale was brought to the Golden Temple.Amidst all this, a crowd gathered at Mehta Chowk, the headquarters of Dumdami Taksal.Inflammatory speeches also took place from there. Many leaders wrote poems in praise of Bhindranwale. The crowd came to know that Bhindranwale was under arrest. People got angry on this. During this, eight people lost their lives in the firing. Darbara Singh, who was the CM of Punjab at that time, demanded the central government to send army but no action was taken.
Decision to keep Bhindranwale in Ludhiana jail
Bhindranwale was being brought to Ludhiana Jail amid deteriorating conditions and high tension. When people came to know that Bhindranwale was being brought to Ludhiana Jail, people thronged the entry gate of the city. Ravi Sahni, who was then the Deputy Commissioner of Ludhiana,Living a LifeWrote a book named. He writes in the book, ‘I decided to separate Bhindranwale’s car from the convoy being brought to Ludhiana and keep it in a guest house. But half an hour ago this plan was stopped from being implemented.
Amritpal Singh Arrest: Where did the fugitive Amritpal Singh roam while absconding for so many days
‘Officers should sit at the same height or below me during interrogation’
Citing the DGP’s order, Sahni was asked to bring Bhindranwale’s car along with the Ludhiana police convoy. Ravi Sahni writes in his book that I called the CM. The reply came from the CM that this order is from President Giani Zail Singh. Exactly what was expected happened. Soon this convoy turned into a procession. Slogans were raised in support of Bhindranwale. SSP Chahal of Gurdaspur was escorting the convoy. Sahni writes in the book thatChahal had a list of conditions for Bhindranwale. For example- Bhindranwale would be accompanied by two of his companions, one a cook and the other a servant. Only an Amritdhari Sikh (a Sikh who follows the five principles of the Khalsa) would be able to interrogate him. During interrogation, Bhindranwale and the police officer will sit at the same height. There was another condition that if Bhindranwale did not answer any question, then third degree would not be used on him.
Amritpal Singh: Another big disclosure about Amritpal, cosmetic surgery done to look like Bhindranwale
‘Bhindranwale being arrested or the Punjab government?’
Ravi Sahni was surprised.Living a LifeIn he further writes,‘I was shocked to know about all these conditions. Then I jokingly asked SSP Chahal that who is getting arrested, Bhindranwale or the Punjab government?When no evidence was found against Bhindranwale during interrogation and investigation, he was released from jail on 15 October 1981. When Bhindranwale came out after being in jail for 25 days, he said-‘The work that I could not do by staying outside for so many years, was completed by being in jail for so many days.’The atmosphere in Punjab deteriorated further after Bhindranwale’s jail visit. After this, DIG Atwal gets murdered in the Golden Temple complex. In two and a half years, the situation becomes such that the Indian Army has to carry out Operation Blue Star in the Golden Temple complex. What happened after that is history. Obviously, in the case of Amritpal Singh, the Punjab Police and security agencies did not want to commit any such lapse.
Source: navbharattimes.indiatimes.com
: Language Inputs
This post is sourced from newspapers, magazines and third-party websites. For more information please check NewsDay Express Disclaimer.