Govt of India keeping ‘close watch’ on Punjab situation

CHANDIGARH: The government of India is believed to be keeping a close watch on the situation in Punjab in view of the recent developments particularly the murderous attack on Operation Bluestar commander Lt Gen Kuldeep Singh Brar in London last Sunday.

 The union Home Ministry is learnt to have cautioned the Punjab government against any complacency warning that the militants have from time to time made their presence felt once in a while whether in India or abroad.

Well placed sources privy to the developments maintained that the attack on Gen Brar has triggered fresh concern among the security and intelligence agencies. They maintain that the militants have managed to strike at will. Whether it is funding the families of the slain militants, hooking the youth to radical ideology and even physically striking here and there like the assassination of Rashtriya Sikh Sangat leader Rulda Singh in Patiala, attack on Gen Brar, killing of the Dera Ballan head in Vienna, to name just a few incidents, militants have proved that nothing was going to stop them.

Moreover, the security agencies maintain that the way demand for clemency to Beant Singh assassin Balwant Singh Rajoana in March this year got instant and spontaneous support from across the state and the way the entire state was closed down in support of the bandh indicates how much support these groups can mobilize whenever it will be required. And this support could not be possible unless the sleeping cells are not working round the clock.

The government of India is also convinced of the fact that the Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence has not stopped its support to the Khalistan militants. Rather it has of late been trying to provide the leading actors of the movement Wadhwa Singh, Paramjeet Singh Neeta Jagatar Singh Tara, one of the convicts in the Beant Singh’s assassination case with more financial and other support to revive militancy in Punjab.

The very fact that Jagtar Singh Tara managed to escape from the high security Burail Jail in Chandigarh and land safely in Pakistan within no time is enough proof that the extremists are capable of managing support for themselves. Otherwise it would not have been possible for Tara to reach Pakistan within a short period from his escape from the jail.

While there are quite a few militant organizations active, it is the Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) led by Wadhawa Singh which remains on the forefront with widespread support in terms of manpower. It is believed that BKI was responsible for the attack on Gen Brar also which points to the fact with how much consistency it has been working on its targets.

The police are also keeping a close watch on the overground activists who have been keeping the movement alive and even financing the sleeping cells in the name of political parties, non government organizations or the human rights organisations. The arrest of Daljeet Singh Bittu and Kulbir Singh Barapind recently are viewed in this context. Police have been alleging that the two were trying to revive the militancy in Punjab.