Guard would have killed Rajiv, too—paper

Press, 8 November 1984, Page 11

Guard would have killed Rajiv, too—paper

NZPA-NYT New Delhi The surviving Sikh accused of killing Indira Gandhi has told investigators that he would have killed Rajiv Gandhi, now the Prime Minister of India, if he had been with his mother on the morning of the assassination. “The .Statesman,” one of India’s most respected newspapers, reported this yesterday. As details on Mrs Gandhi’s assassination emerged unofficially in the Indian press, the two senior police officers responsible for Mrs Gandhi’s security were suspended for dereliction of duty. Mr Gandhi was on a political tour of Calcutta and West Bengal when his mother was shot last Wednesday. The police identified the assailants as Satwant Singh and Beant Singh, two Sikhs who were members of Mrs Gandhi’s personal security force. Beant Singh was said to have been killed by other guards. According to the Press Trust of India, Satwant Singh has said that he and Beant Sinah were adminis-

tered a vow by a Holy man in Gurdwara Bangla Sahib, New Delhi’s largest Sikh temple, to kill Mrs Gandhi. This and other reports have said that the Holy man, identified only as Giani, had left the country about two weeks ago and that he was believed to be a chief conspirator. Other reports have identified him as a follower of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, the Sikh terrorist leader who was killed on June 6 when the Army raided the Golden Temple in Amritsar, the Sikh’s holiocf chrinp Satwant Singh is believed to have named several other people involved in the plot, according to P.T.I. “The Statesman,” which cited its own inquiries into the assassination, said Satwant Singh had told the police that he and Beant Singh had no intention of killing anyone walking behind Mrs Gandhi. But, he said, he was to have killed Rajiv Gandhi had he been present, according to the report. Officials could not be reached for comment on the report. Both “The Statesman” and P.T.I. reported that

Satwant Singh had been interrogated briefly by officials. The account in “The Statesman” said on Tuesday that well before the assassination, one of Satwant Singh’s superiors reported in writing to a higher authority that Singh was unfit for guard duty at the Prime Minister’s house. The report had been shelved, the newspaper said. Earlier, it had been reported that Mrs Gandhi opposed the transfer of Sikhs out of her security force because it would look like discrimination against a minority group. Both “The Statesman” and P.T.I. said that Mrs Gandhi had been hit by 22 bullets. Eight exit wounds were found on her body, the two news organisations said, and 14 bullets were removed. According to reports gathered by both organisations, Beant Singh fired all six bullets from his service revolver as Mrs Gandhi approached an inner gate in her residence compound. Satwant Singh, they reported, sprayed her with bullets from a Sten gun, emptying the magazine.

Both suspected assassins, according to the two reports, threw down their weapons and raised their hands in surrender. Other guards reportedly overpowered them and took them to the nearby guardroom. There, the report said, Beant Singh tried to snatch an officer’s carbine. Guards opened fire on both assailants, killing Beant Singh and seriously wounding Satwant Singh. Satwant Singh, according to doctors, has developed post-operative complications and his condition is critical. Dr J. P. Singh said that the suspect, aged 21, was conscious. The postoperative complications were not specified. On Tuesday, G. R. Gupta and D. C. Gulia, two highranking New Delhi police officials responsible for the Prime Minister’s security, were suspended for dereliction of duty by Mr M. K. Wali, the newly appointed Lieutenant-Governor of greater Delhi. Mr Wali also directed that H. D. Pillai, a police official in charge of V.I.P. security in New Delhi, be transferred back to his home state.