The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Monday, August 28, 2000,
Chandigarh, India

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Sukhbir, guards gheraoed
Tribune News Service

BANGA (Nawanshahr), Aug 27 — The cavalcade of former Union Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal was gheraoed for about half-an-hour by agitated people after his security staff allegedly gave a thrashing to the driver and conductor of a private bus at the local bus stand this afternoon.

The fault of the bus driver was that the bumper of his vehicle touched one of the vehicles of Mr Badal’s cavalcade which was moving through the bus stand at a great speed. This angered Mr Badal and his security staff, who came out of their vehicles and allegedly thrashed the driver and the conductor of the bus owned by Onkar Transport Company.

This enraged the people present at the bus stand who gheraoed Mr Badal and his security staff and raised slogans against them.

The hour-long drama took a new turn when the president of the Punjab Youth Congress, Mr Davinder Singh Babbu, who was passing through the area, stopped and confronted Mr Badal on the issue. There were heated-exchanges between the two.

The situation was defused when the Nawanshahr SP, Mr Balkar Singh, came to the rescue of Mr Badal and pacified the agitated people. Mr Ishwar Singh, SSP, Nawanshahr, was not available for comment. A senior police officer said in view of the people’s anger against Mr Badal, who was on his way from Chandigarh to Jalandhar, he had been advised not to go back via the Nawanshahr-Banga road.

He also confirmed that the cavalcade of Mr Badal was passing through the main bazar at a breakneck speed.

Badal’s security beefed up

NEW DELHI, Aug 27 (PTI) — Security around three senior politicians from Punjab has been tightened following intelligence reports that the ISI-backed militants were targeting them.

Sources said security of Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal, his son Sukhbir Singh Badal and Congress leader Maninderjit Singh Bitta, had been beefed up in view of threat perception.

According to information with security agencies, the militants of Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) had organised a meeting at Dera Sahib Gurdwara in Lahore with some “pilgrims” from India and stated that efforts had already been made for targeting these leaders.

The Punjab police has also cautioned Mr Bitta, who runs an Anti-Terrorist Forum and has survived two assassination attempts by pro-Khalistan groups, and advised him to take “necessary precautions”. Mr Bitta is already getting “Z” plus security.

The recent move has been seen as desperate effort by Pakistan to revive the militancy in Punjab, which saw its end in the early 1990s.

Supported-supported Lakhbir Singh Rode has also been directed to re-group and start fresh attacks on important politicians and vital installations in Punjab, the sources said.