SGPC honours kin of Gen AS Vaidya's killers

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In a controversial move, the SGPC on Wednesday honoured the kin of two terrorists who had killed former army chief General A.S. Vaidya two years after Operation Bluestar, close on the heels of Sep 30 attack in London on Lt.Gen (retd) K.S. Brar.

The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee hailed Gen Vaidya's killers at a function in the Golden Temple.

It offered religious prayers and honoured the kin of Harjinder Singh Jinda and Sukhdev Singh Sukha of the Khalistan Commando Force (KCF). The event was organised at the Golden Temple complex here to observe the death anniversaries of the two terrorists.

The SGPC presented 'siropas' (robe of honour) to Jinda's brother Bhupinder Singh and Sukha's kin Surjit Kaur after the prayers. The ceremony is held annually here.

Jinda and Sukha shot dead Vaidya in Pune in 1986 to seek revenge for the Operation Bluestar, the army operation in June 1984 to flush out terrorists holed up in the Golden Temple complex, which is the holiest of Sikh shrines.

The heavily armed terrorists, led by separatist leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, were holed up inside the shrine complex for months on.

Vaidya was the army chief when the operation was carried out. He settled in Pune after retirement. He was accompanied by only one securityman when the attack took place.

Jinda and Sukha were later arrested and tried for the killing of Vaidya. They were sentenced to death and hanged in 1992.

Lt.Gen.Brar was attacked by young men near Oxford Street in London Sep 30. He fought back and survived the attack. Brar, who led the Operation Bluestar as a major general, had been given Z-category security due to the threat to his life.