40 years ago September 11, 1986: Punjab Police nab 13 terrorists

On September 11, 1986, Punjab Police apprehended 13 members of a 20-member terrorist gang led by Avtar Singh Brahma. DIG Jalandhar, P C Dogra, informed newsmen that the gang was responsible for the murder of four individuals at Chola Sahib in Sarhali, Amritsar district, on August 31. CBI director-general, Mohan Katre, journeyed to Pune to oversee the interrogation of Sukhdeo Singh and Nirmal Singh, who had been apprehended in relation to the killing of General A S Vaidya.

Katre is expected to remain in Pune for one or two days to assist with the investigation following the significant breakthrough achieved by the arrests.

Parkash Singh Badal, the president of the breakaway faction of the Akali Dal(L), and Gurcharan Singh Tohra, the former president of the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee, were released by additional chief metropolitan magistrate V K Malhotra after a month in Tihar jail. They had been detained due to their refusal to adhere to the Delhi police commissioner's request for them to leave the capital.

The two individuals were branded as "Indira loyalists." An official from the faction alleged that President Zail Singh faced pressure not to meet with a delegation from his party, despite his eventual agreement to accept a memorandum from the "Indira Loyalists."