62 attacks on Left leader, still he was stripped of security
AMRITSAR : Despite being on terrorists’ hit-list, the state government withdrew Shaurya Chakra awardee Balwinder Singh Sandhu’s security a year ago on the recommendation of Tarn Taran police. Sandhu was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Tarn Taran district on Friday.
Sandhu and his family had fought against terrorism in the state for years, facing scores of terror attacks during the height of Khalistani militancy.
“He did not submit to the gun in the 1980s and 1990s, when armed militants roamed the streets, especially in Tarn Taran, which was the epicentre of militancy. He fortified his house in Bhikhiwind village to face terrorists who attacked his family, with rocket launchers and grenades. He fought back,” said Baldev Singh Pandori, one of his colleagues in the Revolutionary Marxist Party of India (RMPI). Families of Buta Ram (Amritsar) and Bibi Amrik Kaur (Amarkot) were also at the forefront in fighting militancy.
Bhikhiwind, now a town 15km from the Indo-Pak border, remained the worst-hit by militancy. Sandhu had said in an interview that the family knew every night could be their last alive. The government made documentaries on them titled ‘Punjab Ek Yatra’, ‘Kabhi Na Chhade Khet’ etc and broadcast these on TV.
Honoured with the Shaurya Chakra on April 14, 1993, Sandhu was given security, which was withdrawn a number of times on the pretext that he did not face life threat. Jagdish Kaur, his wife, said, “There have been 62 attacks on the family and to date, 41 FIRs have been registered. Every time a new government came in, our security was withdrawn.”
“Recently, we sent messages to DGP Dinkar Gupta for reinstating adequate security, to no avail. Was the police not aware that we are on the hit-list of terrorists?,” she questioned.The relatives and family of Balwinder alleged that police negligence led to the killing.