Operation Blue Star

In June 1984, Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale's Sikh group occupied the Golden Temple.In response, on 6 June 1984, during one of the holiest Sikh holidays, enacting Operation Blue Star, the Indian army opened fire, killing a disputed number of Sikh militants along with supporters of Bhindranwale. The State of Punjab was closed to international media, Sikh devotees, human rights organizations, and other groups during the period. On 31 October 1984, two of Gandhi's bodyguards, Satwant Singh and Beant Singh, assassinated her with their service weapons in the garden of the Prime Minister's residence at 1 Safdarjung Road, New Delhi as she was walking past a wicket gate guarded by Satwant and Beant. She was to be interviewed by the British actor Peter Ustinov, who was filming a documentary for Irish television. According to information immediately following the incident, Beant Singh shot her three times using his side-arm, and Satwant Singh fired 30 rounds using a Sten submachine gun. Beant Singh and Satwant Singh dropped their weapons and surrendered. Afterwards they were taken away by other guards into a closed room where Beant Singh was shot dead as he tried to capture one of the guard's weapons. While Satwant Singh was arrested at the site of assassination, Kehar Singh was later arrested for conspiracy in the assassination. Both were sentenced to death and hanged in Tihar jail in Delhi.
Gandhi died on her way to the hospital, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, where doctors operated on her. Official accounts at the time stated as many as 19 entry and exit wounds and some reports stated 16 bullets were extracted from her body. She was cremated on 3 November near Raj Ghat. Her funeral was televised live on domestic and international stations including the BBC.

Posted by preeti on 9/28/2010 04:59:00 PM. Filed under Operation Blue Star . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0