AMRITSAR: The Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandhik Committee (SGPC) today paid homage to Beant Singh, one of the assassins of former Prime Minister Ms Indira Gandhi.
Beant was shot dead on the spot by other security personnel while his accomplice Satwant Singh and a third person Kehar Singh accused of conspiracy were hanged on January 6, 1989. The SGPC observes there death anniversary also.
The bhog of the Akhand path was performed on Wednesday in the Golden Temple Complex.
One of the priests at the Golden Temple offered siropa (robe of honour) to Waryam Singh, brother of Satwant Singh who was hanged to death alongwith other person Kehar Singh, who was accused of the conspiracy.
It was on this day in 1984 that Satwant Singh and Beant Singh had shot dead Ms Gandhi in the morning hours apparently to avenge her decision of ordering Operation Bluestar to flush out militants from the Golden Temple complex.
While Beant Singh was shot dead on the spot, and that is why his death anniversary is observed on October 31, Satwant Singh was taken into custody and tried and hanged later.
Since then the SGPC has been organizing the Akhand Path in memory of the assassins twice every year, one on January 6, when Satwant Singh and Kehar Singh were hanged and another on October 31, when Beant Singh was shot dead.
Interestingly, both Satwant Singh and Beant Singh had been earlier withdrawn from her security but were redeployed at the instance of Ms Gandhi only as she did not want that anybody should be discriminated against for his religion. A blind trust that cost her life which ultimately culminated in the countrywide anti-Sikhs riots with Delhi being the worst hit.
