On March 7, 1990, at 6:30 PM, it was just another say in Punjab amid the insurgency period when people heard loud blasts from the end of the street.
But, only a few seconds later, people were seen running and shouting “Bhajjo goliyan maar rahe hai, bande maar te” (run away they are shooting people, they killed many people).
Within the next few seconds, more than ten Khalistan Commando Force (KCF) terrorists came from all sides of the market and blindly started shooting people.
KCF is a banned terrorist organisation operating in Punjab and receives immense support from Sikhs based in Canada. KCF is also responsible for assassination of former Punjab CM Beant Singh in 1995 and General Arun Vaidya who led Operation Blue Star in August 1986.
General Arun Vaidya served as the 13th Chief of the Army Staff from 1983 to 1986. Following his retirement, he was assassinated by Harjinder Singh Jinda and Sukhdev Singh Sukha in August 1986. This was done in vengeance of Operation Blue Star.
Suddenly, the local shopkeepers started closing their shops and the customers hid inside the shops. After the bloodbath, the KCF terrorists ran towards Fazilka road. It is believed that some of the terrorists hid in a house for hours as police had started looking for them. They threatened the house-owner and stayed there till late at night. Those who managed to escape ran towards Fazilka and believed to have disappear in the farms.
It is to be noted that the gates of the police station in Abohar were shut the moment police got to know about the incident. People ran towards the police station, but the doors were closed. Police officers came out of the station after 40 minutes of the incident, and started looking for the KDF terrorists.
In a moment the healthcare of the district collapsed as the Civil Hospital of Abohar which served several adjoining villages was not prepared for such a tragedy. There was no ambulance service available; the injured people were taken to the hospital on carts. The stock of medicines, surgical instruments, and even tissues and bandages was not enough for the injured.
After an hour of the incident, people were lining up in the hospital to donate blood. Suddenly, after 30 minutes, two bomb blasts further shook the town. In these blasts 22 people were killed on the spot, around 10 died due to injuries or the aftermath of the incident. According to the official records, as many as 45 people were injured.
Many people came for help, however, according to records, only RSS workers rushed out of their homes to help the injured. The rest of the leaders from different political parties decided to stay safe at their homes.
In the next few days Fazilka saw protests against the local administration and police. On March 10, protesters marched towards the police station and burnt down a police motorcycle. Then-District Magistrate Rakesh Singh was trying to calm down the crowd, but the protesters also pelted stones on his car.
DSP Surjit Singh Grewal who was posted in Abohar on October 17, 1992. On the first day, he announced that he would bring the KCF terrorist, Chanan Singh (55), who planned the cowardly attack, to justice.
As a part of the plan, DSP Grewal helped Gurmukh Singh, the son-in-law of Chanan Singh, to settle down again. He also made personal connections with Gurmukh and made sure no one doubts his plans.
Chanan Singh started to visit Gurmukh’s place after he got to know that Grewal was on their side. However, he was very careful during his visits. Grewal got to know that Chanan was coming to attend Gurmukh’s daughter’s marriage and son’s Shagun ceremony. Grewal formed a team and asked them to dress as daily wage workers. He posed as Daljit Singh alias Bittu, head of the Sikh Student Federation.
On March 12, 1993, DSP Grewal introduced himself as Bittu to Angrej Singh, son of Gurmukh. Angrej Singh believed him and took him to the house where Chanan was staying.
Chanan Singh, who was sitting on cots, realized that he is not Bittu and started shooting at DSP Grewal. Grewal was wearing a bulletproof jacket. Within seconds, DSP fired at Chanan and he died on the spot.
The story is based on detailed narration of the incident in Late Mathura Das Hiteshi’s book “Itihas Ke Jharokhe se Abohar.”
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