CBI thinks Sikh radicals behind killings in Punjab
, ET Bureau|
Updated: Oct 17, 2017, 12.07 AM IST
NEW DELHI: Investigators are piecing together the details of what they believe could be a series of political killings in Punjab since last year – the same lethal weapons used, an identical modus operandi and a broadly similar profile of the victims belonging to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and other organisations opposed to Sikh radicals.
The same 9 mm pistol and 32 bore pistol were used by the assailants in the six murders and two other attacks, the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL), Chandigarh has told the Central Bureau of Investigation in a detailed forensic report, accessed exclusively by ET.
The CBI had handed over to the laboratory for examination 35 bullets used in the attacks on the members of the RSS, the Shiv Sena and Sri Hindu Takht, besides a pastor and two followers of Dera Sacha Sauda, between January 2016 and July 2017.
Besides, the CBI noticed, all the attacks took place on a Saturday. “Inquiries have revealed that Sikh radicals consider Saturday to be a significant day for carrying out their operations,” said a senior official, who did not wish to be identified.
Yet another common thread, officials said, was that the assailants came on a motorcycle with their faces covered and shot at the victims at close range. This is a throwback to the insurgency in Punjab, they said, when terrorists came with their faces covered and targeted mainly Hindus in an attempt at polarisation.
“The fact that the same weapons have been used in all the crimes, that the crimes occurred on a Saturday and, most important, that the victims were proponents of RSS, Shiv Sena and other Hindu groups cannot be a mere coincidence,” the official said.
Another senior Punjab Police officer said, “That Hindus, a pastor and those supposedly opposed to their ideology stand targeted appears to be a handiwork of Sikh radicals.”
The investigators have not found anything else common among the victims, officials said.
A controversial Sikh leader in Punjab, who enjoys political patronage from across the political spectrum, is under the scanner for his possible role in the murders, they said, and that the failure of the Punjab Police to make any headway in the cases has raised eyebrows.
The same 9 mm pistol and 32 bore pistol were used by the assailants in the six murders and two other attacks, the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL), Chandigarh has told the Central Bureau of Investigation in a detailed forensic report, accessed exclusively by ET.
The CBI had handed over to the laboratory for examination 35 bullets used in the attacks on the members of the RSS, the Shiv Sena and Sri Hindu Takht, besides a pastor and two followers of Dera Sacha Sauda, between January 2016 and July 2017.
Besides, the CBI noticed, all the attacks took place on a Saturday. “Inquiries have revealed that Sikh radicals consider Saturday to be a significant day for carrying out their operations,” said a senior official, who did not wish to be identified.
Yet another common thread, officials said, was that the assailants came on a motorcycle with their faces covered and shot at the victims at close range. This is a throwback to the insurgency in Punjab, they said, when terrorists came with their faces covered and targeted mainly Hindus in an attempt at polarisation.
“The fact that the same weapons have been used in all the crimes, that the crimes occurred on a Saturday and, most important, that the victims were proponents of RSS, Shiv Sena and other Hindu groups cannot be a mere coincidence,” the official said.
Another senior Punjab Police officer said, “That Hindus, a pastor and those supposedly opposed to their ideology stand targeted appears to be a handiwork of Sikh radicals.”
The investigators have not found anything else common among the victims, officials said.
A controversial Sikh leader in Punjab, who enjoys political patronage from across the political spectrum, is under the scanner for his possible role in the murders, they said, and that the failure of the Punjab Police to make any headway in the cases has raised eyebrows.
