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Assassination of Arjun Dass
LocationNew Delhi, India
Date5 September 1985; 39 years ago (1985-09-05)
9:20 am (IST)
TargetArjun Dass
Attack type
Shooting
Weapons.55 revolver
.38 revolver
9mm stengun
Deaths2
Injured6
Victims8
PerpetratorsHarjinder Singh Jinda
Sukhdev Singh Sukha
No. of participants
6
Motive"Justice" for 1984 anti-Sikh riots

On September 5, 1985, at 9:20 am member of the Delhi Metropolitan Council, close associate of Sanjay Gandhi, and Congress leader Arjun Dass was assassinated by 3 Sikhs in Delhi.[1] The assassins were Harjinder Singh Jinda,[2] Sukhdev Singh Sukha,[3] and another member of Jinda's group.[4] They killed Dass in revenge for his role in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.[5][6] Along with Arjun Dass his bodyguard, a constable, was killed and 6 others were injured.[7][8]

Background

Anti-Sikh riots

1984 anti-Sikh riots were a series of organized pogroms[9][10][11] against Sikhs in India following the assassination of Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards.[12][13][14] Government estimates project that about 2,800 Sikhs were killed in Delhi[11][15] and 3,350 nationwide,[16][17] whilst independent sources estimate the number of deaths at about 8,000–17,000.[18][19][20][21]

Arjun Das was identified by eyewitnesses and human rights groups as leading mobs in the massacres.[6][5][8] A mob led by him defecated on the Sikh holy book and living Guru, Guru Granth Sahib.[22]

Hit-list

Harjinder Singh Jinda, and Sukhdev Singh Sukha soon after the riots created a hit list of politicians believed to be part of the violence. The names were H.K.L. Bhagat, Lalit Maken, Jagdish Tytler, Sajjan Kumar, Dharam Das Shastri, Jasbir Singh Jatt, Arjun Dass, and K.C. Pant.[23][24]

Assassination of Lalit Maken

On July 31, 1985, Congress(I) Member of Parliament Lalit Maken was assassinated,[25] when he was moving towards his car parked across the road from his house in Kirti Nagar, Delhi. Maken's wife Geetanjali and a visitor, Balkishan, were also caught in the firing and died.[26] The assailants escaped on their scooters. Lalit Maken was considered to be involved in the killings of Sikhs during 1984 Anti-Sikh riots. In a 31-page booklet titled 'Who Are The Guilty', People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) listed 227 people who led the mobs, which killed up to 18,000 Sikhs over three days. Lalit Maken's name was third on the list.[27] The assassins were Harjinder Singh Jinda, and Sukhdev Singh Sukha.[28]

Assassination

On September 5, 1985, Jinda, Sukha, and the other Singh made their way to Arjun Dass' auto parts shop which was in a crowded marketplace. Jinda and Sukha were on a stole scooter while Nimma was on a three-wheeler. They had removed all identifiers of the vehicles.[29][23] Jinda had a .55 revolver. Sukha had a .38 revolver and the other had a 9mm stengun.[23][30] Once they reached Dass' shop Jinda continued to sit on the scooter as the getaway driver. Sukha shot Dass' guard in the head killing him instantly. The other Singh shot another guard. Both then unloaded fire into Arjun Dass. In total, they fired 29 bullets.[29][23] All of them quickly fled the scene. While fleeing the assassins yelled, "Long live Khalistan."[31]

Aftermath

5 minutes after the killing, a police jeep was sent to the scene.[29] After emergency treatment, Arjun Dass was pronounced dead at the All India Institute of Medical Science.[32] Roadblocks were set up in Delhi and neighboring districts an hour after the killing. After the killing, the Home Ministry began plans to create anti-terrorist squads in key cities. Other politicians who led mobs in the anti-Sikh riots were provided security in reaction to Dass' killing. The homes of MP Jagdish Tytler, former MP Dharam Das Shastri, and Minister of Parliamentary Affairs H.K.L. Bhagat were given security from the Special Frontier Force.[29] All 3 were named in the paper 'Who Are The Guilty'.[33] More than 2,000 men with Stenguns, carbines and West German sub-machine guns and with 500 vehicles were assigned to guard individuals believed to be on the Sikh's hit-list. They were gathered from the Central Reserve Police Force, National Security Guard, Delhi Armed Police, Border Security Force, and Intelligence Bureau.[34] Some were placed in the Very Very High Security Risk (VVHSR) category, such as Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, H.K.L. Bhagat, Jagdish Tytler.[34] The latter 2 were named in 'Who Are The Guilty'.[33] In another category named Very High Security Risk (VHSR) 2 involved in the riots were given security. Them being former MP Sajjan Kumar, and Dharam Das Shastri.[34]

References

  1. ^ "Sikh gunmen kill friend of Gandhi; cabinet holds emergency meeting". Montreal Gazette. 5 September 1985.
  2. ^ India Today. Living Media India Pvt. Limited. 1986.
  3. ^ "Welcome to Frontline : Vol. 28 :: No. 26". Hinduonnet.com. Archived from the original on 2 March 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  4. ^ Times of India Illustrated Weekly. Published for the proprietors, Bennett, Coleman & Company, Limited, at the Times of India Press. 1988. p. 31.
  5. ^ a b Collective, News Warriors (2021-11-15). Sweet &Sour. Blue Rose Publishers. p. 256. ISBN 978-93-5472-753-5.
  6. ^ a b admin (2019-05-29). "Know the Facts of 1984 Sikh Genocide | SikhPA". Retrieved 2023-07-04.
  7. ^ Data India. Press Institute of India. 1985.
  8. ^ a b Eugene Register-Guard. Eugene Register-Guard.
  9. ^ State pogroms glossed over. The Times of India. 31 December 2005.
  10. ^ "Anti-Sikh riots a pogrom: Khushwant". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 22 October 2018. Retrieved 23 September 2009.
  11. ^ a b Bedi, Rahul (1 November 2009). "Indira Gandhi's death remembered". BBC. Archived from the original on 2 November 2009. Retrieved 2 November 2009. The 25th anniversary of Indira Gandhi's assassination revives stark memories of some 3,000 Sikhs killed brutally in the orderly pogrom that followed her killing
  12. ^ Jeffrey M. Shaw PhD; Timothy J. Demy PhD (27 March 2017). War and Religion: An Encyclopedia of Faith and Conflict [3 volumes]. ABC-CLIO. p. 129. ISBN 978-1610695176. Archived from the original on 26 April 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  13. ^ Paul R. Brass (October 1996). Riots and Pogroms. NYU Press. p. 203. ISBN 978-0814712825. Archived from the original on 30 October 2020. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  14. ^ Kaur, Jaskaran; Crossette, Barbara (2006). Twenty years of impunity: the November 1984 pogroms of Sikhs in India (PDF) (2nd ed.). Portland, OR: Ensaaf. p. 27. ISBN 978-0-9787073-0-9. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 January 2012. Retrieved 4 November 2010.
  15. ^ "Report:Justice Nanavati Commission of Inquiry" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 December 2011. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
  16. ^ "What Delhi HC Order on 1984 Anti-Sikh Pogrom Says About 2002 Gujarat Riots". Archived from the original on 31 May 2019. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  17. ^ "Why Gujarat 2002 Finds Mention in 1984 Riots Court Order on Sajjan Kumar". Archived from the original on 31 May 2019. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  18. ^ Joseph, Paul (11 October 2016). The SAGE Encyclopedia of War: Social Science Perspectives. SAGE. p. 433. ISBN 978-1483359885. around 17,000 Sikhs were burned alive or killed
  19. ^ Nelson, Dean (30 January 2014). "Delhi to reopen inquiry in to massacre of Sikhs in 1984 riots". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  20. ^ "Jagdish Tytler's role in 1984 anti-Sikh riots to be re-investigated". NDTV.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2022. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  21. ^ Pillalamarri, Akhilesh. "India's Anti-Sikh Riots, 30 Years On". The Diplomat. Archived from the original on 10 July 2022. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  22. ^ Sangat Singh (1994). The Sikhs In History.
  23. ^ a b c d "Jail Chithiyan. Bhai Harjinder Singh Jinda Ate Bhai Sukhdev Singh Sukha (Singhs of Keysborough) | PDF | South Asia | Punjab". Scribd. Retrieved 2023-06-01.
  24. ^ Jinda, Harjinder Singh; Sukha, Sukhdev Singh. ਅਸੀਂ ਅੱਤਵਾਦੀ ਨਹੀਂ (in Punjabi). Azad Khalsa Prakashan.
  25. ^ "SGPC honours kin of Vaidya's assassins". Tribuneindia.com. 9 October 2008.
  26. ^ "Congress(I) MP Lalit Maken, wife shot dead by unidentified assailants in Delhi". India Today. Retrieved 2023-06-01.
  27. ^ "A Life sentence - A Sessions Court in Delhi sentences Ranjit Singh Gill, accused in the murder of Congress(I) MP Lalit Maken, to life imprisonment". Archived from the original on 29 April 2011. Retrieved 19 February 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  28. ^ Kanth, Amod K. (2020-12-18). Khaki in Dust Storm: Communal Colours and Political Assassinations (1980–1991) Police Diaries Book 1. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-93-88630-89-4.
  29. ^ a b c d "Sikh terrorists haunt Delhi after Sant Longowal assassination in Punjab". India Today. Retrieved 2023-07-04.
  30. ^ Kanth, Amod K. (2020-12-18). Khaki in Dust Storm: Communal Colours and Political Assassinations (1980–1991) Police Diaries Book 1. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-93-88630-89-4.
  31. ^ Roy, Nilova (1985-09-05). "Ally of Indian Premier Assassinated". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2023-07-04.
  32. ^ "Assailants with machine guns killed a senior member of... - UPI Archives". UPI. Retrieved 2023-07-04.
  33. ^ a b "PUCL - PUDR Report: Who are the Guilty ?". 2018-04-11. Archived from the original on 2018-04-11. Retrieved 2023-07-04.
  34. ^ a b c "Politicians in terrorist hit list try to fight off death of the spirit". India Today. Retrieved 2023-07-04.
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