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Onkar Singh in New Delhi
Sarabjit Singh, former deputy commissioner of Amritsar and author of Operation Black Thunder: An Eyewitness Account of Terrorism in Punjab has denied that his book alleges that former president of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, Gurcharan Singh Tohra had connived with the Centre to send the army into the Golden Temple complex during Operation Bluestar.
Operation Bluestar was initiated by the Indian government at the height of Punjab militancy on June 5, 1984 to flush out Khalistani terrorists led by Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, who were holed up at the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The operation, which ended on June 9, partially destroyed the temple. The government, along with the SGPC, later reconstructed the damaged portions of the temple.
Eighty-three armymen were killed and 248 wounded. A total of 492 terrorists and others were killed and 86 injured. About 1500 people were captured, including a number of Pakistanis (source: www.bharat-rakshak.com).
Singh's book will be released in New Delhi later this week.
The former Indian Administrative Service officer told rediff.com: "I was surprised to read the news myself."
He said that nowhere does the book mention that Tohra joined hands with the government to send the army into the Golden Temple.
"I have quoted Tohra at certain places. Tohra had told me that during their talks with the government representatives one of the joint secretaries had remarked that the government might send in the army into the Golden Temple complex. Tohra took up this matter with Mrs Indira Gandhi, the then prime minister, and opposed the move. I have quoted what Tohra had told me in verbatim," Singh said.
Asked if Tohra had allowed the Sikh militants to regain control of Golden Temple in 1986, Singh replied in the affirmative.
"After he was elected president of SGPC in 1986 Tohra disbanded the task force comprising of ex-armymen created by predecessor Kabul Singh to check the entry of the militants into the temple complex. Though Tohra claimed that he had merely ordered screening of the members of the task force, the fact remains that he did little to stall the dismissal of the members of the task force," Singh said.
"It was during his tenure as SGPC president that the terrorists not only regained control of Golden Temple complex but also passed a resolution for creation of Khalistan," he added.
Based on the book, former chief minister of Punjab, Parkash Singh Badal has demanded that Tohra's 'complicity with the intelligence agencies' should be re-examined, as 'he was a part of the conspiracy to destroy Sikh religious institutions and destablise Punjab'.
Speaking to rediff.com Tohra expressed outrage at the charges hurled against him by his one-time friend turned foe.
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