Shaurya Chakra awardee Balwinder, who fought terrorism in Punjab, shot dead
Amritsar: Shaurya Chakra awardee Balwinder Singh Sandhu, who fought terrorism in Punjab was shot dead by unknown assailants in Tarn Taran district on Friday, months after the government withdrew his security cover.
The motorcycle-borne men pumped four bullets into 62-year-old Sandhu when he was at his office adjoining his home in Bhikhiwind near Tarn Taran and escaped, police said.
He was rushed to a hospital where doctors declared him brought dead.
Sandhu had fought against terrorism in the state for years, facing at least 16 terror attacks during the height of Khalistani militancy in Punjab but had been able to repudiate them all while fighting militants along with his brother and their wives.
Singh's security cover was withdrawn by the state government a year ago on the recommendation of Tarn Taran police, his brother Ranjit said, adding their entire family had remained on the hit list of terrorists.
The Tran Taran braveheart also featured in some documentaries made on his anti-terror feats.
Inspired by Sandhu and his family, many people followed him and defended themselves from terror attacks.
The Union government had awarded Shaurya Chakra to Sandhu in 1993 with the citation for the award mentioning that Balwinder Singh Sandhu and his brother Ranjit Singh Sandhu are opposed to the activities of terrorists. They were on the hit lists of terrorists. The terrorists so far have made 16 attempts to wipe out the Sandhu's family within in about 11 months.
The terrorists attacked them in groups of 10 to 200, but every time Sandhu brothers with the help of their brave wives Jagdish Kaur Sandhu and Balraj Kaur Sandhu have successfully failed the attempts of militants to kill them, it mentioned.
Militants had attacked the family on January 31, 1990, for the first time.
The family had faced the deadliest attack on September 30, 1990, when around 200 terrorists surrounded their house from all sides and attacked them continuously for five hours with deadly weapons including rocket launchers.
In this well-planned attack by terrorists, the approach road of the house was blocked by spreading underground mines so that no help from police could reach them, the citation said.
Undaunted, Sandhu brothers and their wives fought terrorists with pistols and stun-guns provided by the government. The resistance shown by the Sandhu brothers and their family members forced the terrorists to retreat, it says.
All these persons have displayed courage and bravery of a high order in facing the attack of the terrorists and failing their repeated murderous attempts, it further says.
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Man arrested with Rs 2.54-crore heroin in Mumbai
Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.
The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.
Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.
The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.
Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.
The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.
