| Assassination of Arjun Dass | |
|---|---|
| Location | New Delhi,India |
| Date | 4 September 1985; 40 years ago (1985-09-04) 9:20 am (IST) |
| Target | Arjun Dass |
Attack type | Shooting |
| Weapons | .55revolver .38revolver 9mm stengun |
| Deaths | 2 |
| Injured | 6 |
| Victims | 8 |
| Perpetrators | Harjinder Singh Jinda Sukhdev Singh Sukha |
| 6 | |
| Motive | "Justice" for1984 anti-Sikh riots |
On 4 September 1985, at 9:20 am member of theDelhi Metropolitan Council, close associate ofSanjay Gandhi, andCongress leader Arjun Dass was assassinated by 3 Sikhs inDelhi.[1] The assassins wereHarjinder Singh Jinda,[2]Sukhdev Singh Sukha,[3] and another member of Jinda's group.[4] They killed Dass in revenge for his role in the1984 anti-Sikh riots.[5][6] Along with Arjun Dass his bodyguard, aconstable, was killed and 6 others were injured.[7][8]
1984 anti-Sikh riots were a series of organizedpogroms[9][10][11] againstSikhs inIndia following theassassination of Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards.[12][13][14] Government estimates project that about 2,800 Sikhs were killed inDelhi[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]
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 wereH.K.L. Bhagat,Lalit Maken,Jagdish Tytler,Sajjan Kumar,Dharam Das Shastri, Jasbir Singh Jatt, Arjun Dass, andK.C. Pant.[23][24]
On 31 July 1985,Congress(I)Member of ParliamentLalit Maken was assassinated,[25] when he was moving towards his car parked across the road from his house inKirti 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 during1984 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]
On 4 September 1985,[29] 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 athree-wheeler. They had removed all identifiers of the vehicles.[30][23] Jinda had a.55revolver. Sukha had a.38revolver and the other had a9mm stengun.[23][31] 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.[30][23] All of them quickly fled the scene. While fleeing the assassins yelled, "Long liveKhalistan."[32]
5 minutes after the killing, a police jeep was sent to the scene.[30] After emergency treatment, Arjun Dass was pronounced dead at theAll India Institute of Medical Science.[33] Roadblocks were set up in Delhi and neighboring districts an hour after the killing. After the killing, theHome 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 MPJagdish Tytler, former MPDharam Das Shastri, andMinister of Parliamentary AffairsH.K.L. Bhagat were given security from theSpecial Frontier Force.[30] All 3 were named in the paper 'Who Are The Guilty'.[34] More than 2,000 men withStenguns,carbines andWest Germansub-machine guns and with 500 vehicles were assigned to guard individuals believed to be on the Sikh's hit-list. They were gathered from theCentral Reserve Police Force,National Security Guard,Delhi Armed Police,Border Security Force, andIntelligence Bureau.[35] Some were placed in the Very Very High Security Risk (VVHSR) category, such as Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, H.K.L. Bhagat, Jagdish Tytler.[35] The latter 2 were named in 'Who Are The Guilty'.[34] In another category named Very High Security Risk (VHSR) 2 involved in the riots were given security. Them being former MPSajjan Kumar, and Dharam Das Shastri.[35]
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
around 17,000 Sikhs were burned alive or killed
