Amritsar (Punjab)

Posters displaying Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale were distributed at the Akal Takht Sahib in Amritsar on the occasion of the 42nd anniversary of Operation Blue Star.

Bhindranwale was the head of the radical Sikh outfit Damdami Taksal. He, along with his armed followers, was killed during Operation Blue Star, launched by the Indian Army to flush out the militants from the Golden Temple complex in June 1984.

Pro-Khalistan slogans were also raised at the Akal Takht Sahib, as the people present here remembered Bhindarwale on his death anniversary on Saturday.

Punjab Police has heightened the security outside the Golden Temple.

ADCP Vishaljit Singh said, "We have made elaborate security arrangements for June 6, checkpoints have been set up across the city to prevent any illegal activity. Police personnel have been deployed, and barricades have been placed on all routes leading to the Golden Temple."

Earlier, Special Director General of Police (Law and Order) Praveen Kumar Sinha visited Amritsar to review the deployment of forces and confirmed that nearly 4,000 police personnel have been deployed to ensure a peaceful atmosphere.

Talking to the reporters, Praveen Kumar Sinha said, "The anniversary of Operation Blue Star is on the 6th June; in connection with this, numerous programs and events take place, creating a heightened and sensitive security environment. In this context, we have established a comprehensive security grid across Punjab, specifically in Amritsar and its surrounding areas."

June 6, 1984, marked the day when the Indian Army, under Operation Blue Star, stormed into the Golden Temple on orders of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to contain the separate Sikh state demand under the leadership of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale in Punjab. It was reported that Bhindranwale had stashed large quantities of arms on the Golden Temple premises.

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The Operation was heavily criticised. Months later, Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two of her Sikh bodyguards, Beant Singh and Satwant Singh, at her New Delhi residence on October 31, 1984.