Document #1189721
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Author)
Information on the these subjects, other
than that provided below on the assassination of Beant Singh in
Chandigarh, could not be found among the sources consulted by the
DIRB.
On 31 August 1995, Beant Singh, Punjab's
chief minister, was assassinated by a car bomb in Chandigarh, the
joint capital of Punjab and Haryana (AFP 1 Sept. 1995; ibid. 2
Sept. 1995; Star Tribune 1 Sept. 1995; India Abroad 8
Sept. 1995, 4; The Hindu 9 Sept. 1995, 1). The Babbar
Khalsa, a Sikh militant organization, claimed responsibility,
stating that Singh was killed because he had "betrayed the Sikh
community" (ibid.; AFP 1 Sept. 1995; India Abroad 8 Sept.
1995, 4). According to an AFP report, following the assassination,
the New Delhi police department "had been placed on a high security
alert as a precaution against possible attacks by Sikh militants.
Western Maharashtra and northern Haryana were on similar alert" (31
Aug. 1995). According to an Associated Press (AP) report, police in
Punjab, Haryana and New Delhi "went on alert, setting up road
blocks an the state borders and checking all vehicles" (31 Aug.
1995).
According to the AFP report of 31 August
1995, Haryana is "relatively peaceful."
This Response was prepared after
researching publicly accessible information currently available to
the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does
not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular
claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of
additional sources consulted in researching this Information
Request.
Agence France Presse (AFP). 2 September
1995. "New Delhi Academic Questioned in Sikh Politician's
Assassination." (NEXIS)
_____. 1 September 1995. Abhik Kumar
Chanda. "India Mourns Sikh Leader's Car-Bomb Assassination."
(NEXIS)
_____. 31 August 1995. "So Far No One
Has Claimed Responsibility for the City-Centre Blast ..."
(NEXIS)
Associated Press (AP). 31 August 1995.
AM Cycle. Harbaksh Singh Nanda. "Chief Minister of Punjab, 12
Others, Killed in Bomb Blast." (NEXIS)
The Hindu [Madras]. 9 September
1995. International Edition. Ravi Sidhu. "Beant Singh Killed in
Bomb Blast."
India Abroad [Toronto]. 8
September 1995. Harbaksh Singh Nanda and Mayank Chhaya. "Dazed
People Wonder About State's Future."
Star Tribune [Minneapolis]. 1
September 1995. "Bombing Blamed on Sikh Separatists Kills Punjab
Leader." (NEXIS)
Agence France Presse (AFP). 1 September
1995. Abhik Kumar Chanda. "India Mourns Sikh Leader's Car-Bomb
Assassination." (NEXIS)
_____. 31 August 1995. "So Far No One
Has Claimed Responsibility for the City-Centre Blast ..."
(NEXIS)
The Hindu [Madras]. 9 September
1995. International Edition. Ravi Sidhu. "Beant Singh Killed in
Bomb Blast," p. 1.
DIRB "Amnesty International: India"
country file. 1995.
DIRB Indexed Media Review (IMR)
[Ottawa]. Weekly. 1995.
DIRB "India" country file. 1995.
Foreign Broadcast Information Service
(FBIS) Daily Reports. January to May 1995.
The Hindu [Madras]. Weekly. June
1995 to present.
India Today [Delhi]. Fortnightly.
1995.
International Services Group (ISG),
Citizenship and Immigration Canada [Hull]. Infrequent reports. 1994
to present.
Keesing's Record of World Events
[Cambridge]. Monthly. 1995.
News from Asia Watch. 1994 to
present.
Office of Asylum Affairs (OAA), Bureau
of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, United States. February 1995.
India: Comments on Country Conditions and Asylum Claims.
Refugees, Immigration and Asylum Section
(RIAS), Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australia. June
1994. Country Profile: India.
On-line search of media sources.