Chandigarh: Two motorcycle-borne unidentified assailants shot dead Shaurya Chakra awardee Balwinder Singh Sandhu at his residence in Bhikhiwind in the border district of Tarn Taran Friday morning.
According to the police, the 62-year-old was shot dead around 7 am outside the school he ran within the premises of his residential complex. The assailants were waiting for him near the house and fired at a close range. Sandhu was rushed to the hospital, where he was declared brought dead. The CCTV footage of the crime has been recovered.
Hardial Singh Mann, Deputy Inspector General (DIG), Ferozepur range, said the police was looking at all possible angles to the murder, including personal enmity. “We will be able to crack this case soon,” he told ThePrint.
Sandhu and his brother Ranjit Singh and their wives Jagdish Kaur and Balraj Kaur, respectively, were awarded the Shaurya Chakra in 1993 for their armed struggle against militancy in Punjab through the ’80s and early ’90s. The civilian family has been on the hit list of militants ever since.
Sandhu’s family alleged that his security had been withdrawn earlier this year and they had been constantly trying to get in touch with Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Dinkar Gupta to redeploy the police with them.
“But no one bothered. Only one person had been attached to him who too remained absent for weeks,” his widow Jagdish Kaur told reporters after the incident.
Sandhu’s son is an office-bearer in the student’s body of the Khalsa College in Amritsar and police are also looking into the possibility of this being a result of student politics.
Sandhu was known as Comrade Balwinder in Bhikhiwind. He and his wife Jagdish Kaur were CPI(M) workers.
Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh Friday ordered the constitution of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) under the Ferozepur DIG to probe the murder. In addition to Mann, the SIT comprises Tarn Taran Senior Superintendent of Police Dhruman Nimbale and Bhikhiwind Deputy Superintendent of Police Rajbir Singh.
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The Shaurya Chakra
The Shaurya Chakra citation for the family, which fought off militants in Punjab, highlights the number of attacks on the family.
“Shri Balwinder Singh Sandhu and his brother Ranjeet Singh Sandhu are opposed to the activities of terrorists. They are obviously in the hit list of the terrorists. The terrorists have so far made 16 attempts to wipe out the Sandhu family within a span of about 11 months. The terrorists attacked them in groups of 10 to 200, but everytime the Sandhu brothers with the help of the brave wives, Shrimati Jagdish Kaur Sandhu and Shrimati Balraj Kaur Sandhu have successfully foiled the attempts of militants to kill them,” read the citation.
“The first attack on Sandhu family was made on 31st January 1990, and the last on 28th December 1991. But the deadliest attack was made on 30th September, 1990. On that day about 200 terrorists surrounded the Sandhu’s house from all sides and attacked them continuously for 5 hours with deadly weapons including rocket launchers. The attack was well planned and the approach road of the house was blocked by spreading underground gun mines so that no help from police forces could reach them.
“Undaunted, the Sandhu brothers and their wives fought the terrorists with their pistols and sten guns provided by the Government. The resistance shown by the Sandhu brothers and their family members forced the terrorists to retreat. All these persons have displayed courage and bravery of a high order in facing the attack of the terrorists and foiling their repeated murderous attempts,” it added.
Following the incident, Balwinder Singh had converted his house into a virtual fortress.
This report has been updated with additional information
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Cowards. These Khalistani dogs. Must be found and publicly hanged. When identified, their families must disown them else they should be charged complicit in murder and punishment meted to them.
These people are taking advantage of freedom and loose law.
Khalistani terrorists must be wiped out. No point in taking hostage. They must be shot dead.
Nothing Short Of a Disgrace That a Brave Gentleman Like Mr Sandhu Who Faught More Battles Against Terrorism Than The Cowardly Punjab Police ever Did During The 80s/Early Part Of the 1990s in Police Dist T.T Was Unarmed When Attacked By Two Yet Unknown Cowards Because Had He Been Armed The Story Would Have Been Quite Different. The Punjab State Which Is Still Packed To The Rafters With Uneducated Backward Types Acting Like Black Englishmen/Women Has Nothing Called Law/Order or Fear Of Law Which Has Been Carefully Dismantled By Political Terrorists In Various Punjab /Centre Govts from 1997 to 2020..