Sikh group says Indira's killer a hero

Jalandhar: A Sikh group on Tuesday awarded the title of ‘Great Martyr’ to Beant Singh, an assassin of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, at a function organised to commemorate the 22nd anniversary of the ‘martyrdom’.

Balwant Singh Nandgarh, the jathedar of the Takht Damdama Sahib, conferred the title on Beant at a convention organised by the Dal Khalsa.

Nandgarh said Beant’s ‘sacrifice’ was in accordance with Sikh traditions and presented his family with siropas (robe of honour) and shawls.

Beant had avenged the desecration of Sikh religious places and he was with those martyrs who had restored the honour of Sikhs in history, the jathedar said.

Members of several Sikh groups attended the convention for Beant, who was shot dead by security guards minutes after Gandhi’s assassination on October 31, 1984.

The convention adopted a resolution stating that Beant was a ‘martyr’ and Sikhs would remember him in their daily prayer (ardas).