Sect suspected in Canberra attack

Press, 16 September 1977, Page 1

Sect suspected in Canberra attack

NZPA Canberra The Ananada Marga religious sect is suspected of complicity in the attempted assassination, and abduction, of a senior Indian diplomat and his wife in Canberra early yesterday. The Australian Government has placed armed guards around the residences of all Indian High Commission staff. A blond, bearded young man, believed to be an Australian, plunged a dagger through the bedclothes of Colonel Iqbal Singh, India’s military attache in Australia, piercing a lung as he lay sleeping at 1.45 a.m. After ripping the telephone from the wall, the man, armed with a .22 rifle, forced Colonel Singh and his wife at gunpoint into a car, ordering them to drive out of Canberra. Colonel Singh is in a wife managed to overpower the assailant soon afterwards, but not before Colonel Singh was again stabbed in the chest and a rifle bullet punctured the roof of the car. An extensive hunt is under way for the assailant, who managed to avoid a cordon on the outskirts of Canberra when it was set up before dawn. The incident set diplomatic wires between Canberra and Delhi buzzing as an angry Indian Government demanded more protection for its staff and property in Australia. It is the third such request to the Australian Government this year after a series of incidents involving Indian High Commission staff and property. "I have lodged a protest with the Australian Government and asked for guards to be placed around all residences occupied by Indian Government per-

sonnel in Australia,” said the Indian High Commissioner (Mr J. C. Ajamani). Colonel Sing his in a satisfactory condition after emergency surgery. Mrs Singh, who said she had seen the assailant outside her house two days ago, is recovering from shock and bruising.

“It is the work of a group who are resorting to violence and terror to point to their political aims," said Mr Ajamani. His reference to a group is believed to refer to the Ananda Marga movement, a religious sect which demonstrated outside the High Commission earlier this year protesting against the jailing in India of its leader, known as Baba. Only last month, a $250,000 fire destroyed nearly all the Indian High Commissi r building. The police are investigating any possible link between the fire and the attack on Colonel Singh. The drama began when

the assailant broke through a bathroom window, smashed down the door of the locked bedroom, and plunged the dagger through the bedclothes.

“Colonel Singh was stabbed in his sleep and then forced to drive his own car out on the road to Cootna,” said Mr Ajamani.

“The man made him drive the car and he had a rifle pointed at his head. He made Mrs Singh sit in the back seat next to him and pointed a dagger at her.

“They were driving for about 10 or 15 minutes. Sensing danger, Colonel Singh showed great presence of mind. “He suddenly swerved off the road into the bushes. He and Mrs Singh overpowered the man, but he got another stab wound in the chest. The man suddenly got out of the car and ran into the bush,” said Mr Ajamani.