Post date: Oct 02, 2012 11:43:46 AM
Lieutenant General (Retired) Kuldeep Singh Brar, who led the 1984 Operation Blue Star on Sikh militants in northern India's Amritsar city, stabbed in central London.
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM (OCTOBER 02, 2012) (ANI) - Lieutenant General (Retired) Kuldeep Singh Brar, who led the 1984 Operation Blue Star on Sikh militants in northern India's Amritsar city, was stabbed in London.
The 78-year-old sustained serious injuries after being attacked by three men just off Oxford Street in central London on Sunday (September 30) night.
After spending the night in hospital, he was released the following day.The area remained cordoned off on Monday (October 01) as Metropolitan Police officers collected evidence.
Meanwhile back in New Delhi, retired Lieutenant General Tejinder Singh condemned the attack by terming it a shameful act.
"An attack on him who is now an old man of over 75 years of age, I think is a cowardly act and will be condemned by all right thinking people in this country and also abroad. This is an attack obviously by some fringe elements of the society and one has to remember that for terrorism today there are no takers anywhere in the world," said Singh.
A case of attempted murder has been opened though no arrests have yet been made.
The Indian High Commission, which sees the attack as an assassination attempt, is expected to push British authorities to take speedy action.
Brar, a Z-category protectee, is believed to still be a target for extremist Sikhs. He and his wife were on a private visit to London and he was without security.
Another retired Lieutenant General P N Hoon slammed both Indian as well British agencies for the security lapse.
"As far as lapses are concerned, yes, lapses have taken place both by the Indian government and also by the British government," said Hoon.
Brar is reported to have fought back against his assailants, who were bearded, according to his wife.
However, Hoon ruled out the possibility of Sikh militants behind the attack and said that nature of attack does not suggest that it was planned.
"Khalistani if they want to push off, they will make sure that he is dead instead of attacking with this they had done by pistol and they just put six rounds in the body. So, I don't think that this is too planned attack than because if it was too planned attack I will be very sad because they would have really achieved their target," said Hoon.
Meanwhile, Shahnawaz Hussain, leader of India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party said that Brar's life was under threat and the Indian government never took serious measures to protect him.
"It is government's responsibility to provide security to everyone. The way he is attacked is not correct and government should take stock of the situation. Earlier also he had reported threat to his life but Indian government did not take it seriously," said Hussain.
Brar's Operation Bluestar aimed to flush out Sikh militants led by Jarnail Singh Bhindrawale from theGolden Temple, who was demanding an independent state for Sikhs called Khalistan.
The raid left around 1,000 people dead.