40 years ago September 24, 1986: Brig Puri’s ‘killer’ nabbed

On September 24, 1986, Brigadier Puri and two other army officials were killed in Ramgarh, Bihar following Operation Bluestar in June 1984. Nine terrorists, including Army deserter Rachpal Singh (35), were arrested by security forces in various locations in Punjab. Singh had allegedly attempted to create disaffection among a section of the Army at Ramgarh and Khem Karan in Punjab after Operation Bluestar.

The Soviet Union proposed signing a treaty on the total prohibition of nuclear weapons, which could be verified under the proposals made by India and five other countries. Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze assured the UN General Assembly that there was no issue regarding the verification of nuclear tests and Russia was open to any form or method of verification.

However, Dayal Singh, a 40-year-old individual, died in police custody after reportedly being beaten up and tortured. The post-mortem report revealed injury marks all over his body, contradicting the South Delhi DCP's earlier statement that there were no external marks of injury. The conflicting reports between the police and doctors led to a confrontation, with doctors accusing the police of providing a "blatant lie" in their statement.

This situation caused a near-confrontation between some doctors and the police. Additionally, restrictions were imposed on Indian nationals visiting Singapore, requiring them to obtain visas before their travel, as Singapore had decided to implement these restrictions before the end of the year.