A day after Shaurya Chakra awardee Balwinder Singh Sandhu was assassinated in Punjab, his wife blamed the government and intelligence agencies for not paying heed to the several appeals that they made for security.
“There are 42 registered FIRs on attacks on our family and countless other attacks have taken place which are not on record. Withdrawal of security was wrong,” news agency ANI quoted Jagdish Kaur, wife of Balwinder Singh, as saying.
“Those who treat security cover as a status symbol have been provided with it. We actually needed it but were not given,” She said, as reported by ANI.
“If we had security then this would not have happened, as killers would have feared retaliation. We had sent several emails, written applications and also met officials, but we did not get any security,” Kaur added.
The family members conducted the last rites of Singh on Saturday. Earlier the family had refused to cremate the body unless the accused are arrested.
Months after the government withdrew security, two men on a motorcycle shot 62-year-old Singh on Friday when he was at his office adjoining his home at Bhikhiwind. He was taken to the hospital where doctors declared him “brought dead”.
{{/usCountry}}Months after the government withdrew security, two men on a motorcycle shot 62-year-old Singh on Friday when he was at his office adjoining his home at Bhikhiwind. He was taken to the hospital where doctors declared him “brought dead”.
{{/usCountry}}The family agreed for the cremation rituals after the administration ensured that the perpetrators will be arrested at the earliest.
Justifying the security withdrawal, Tarn Taran’s Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Rajesh Sharma said it was done during the Covid-19 pandemic. “The situation arose suddenly and gunmen provided to everyone were called back by the police department,” he said.
“Now three gunmen have been provided to the family,” he added.
Sandhu had fought against terrorism in the state for years, facing scores of terror attacks during the height of Khalistani militancy.
Meanwhile, a special investigation team has been formed to probe the killing.