Top KLF militants surrender
From Jangveer Singh
Tribune News Service

SANGRUR, March 4 — In a major breakthrough the Sangrur police has effected the surrender of two top Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) militants, including Manjinder Singh Issi who was involved in the kidnapping of a Romanian diplomat besides the killing of former Finance Minister Balwant Singh and attack on SGPC president Gurcharan Singh Tohra.

The militants, who surrendered before Sangrur district police chief Arpit Shukla on March 2, were presented before newsmen today. The second terrorist is Sukhjinder Singh, alias Lila the other militant is the younger brother of Issi and involved in several cases of murder and burglary.

Briefing newsmen, Patiala range Deputy Inspector General of Police Sanjeev Gupta said the surrender had been effected after the setting up of a special task force in January following information that the two militants were working as transporters at Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh.

He said the task force, which was headed by Sangrur SP (Detective) Gurpreet Singh and Dhuri DSP Rajbachan Singh Sandhu raided the Jabalpur hideout of the two militants they escaped. He said after this raids were conducted on various hideouts of the militants and lines of communication were opened with their family members following which they surrendered.

District police chief Arpit Shukla said Manjinder Singh Issi was the uncrowned king of the KLF along with Gurjant Singh Budhsinghwala and Dr Pritam Singh Sekhon whose area of operation extended to the entire northern region, including Delhi. He said Issi had driven the car when Romanian diplomat Rado was kidnapped in Delhi in 1991 and that Issi had kept the diplomat in hiding in Delhi, Faridabad and Jaipur before bringing him to Ludhiana.

Describing Issi as a cool operator and the think tank, he said Issi had escaped the police net in Delhi when his accomplice was killed following the Rado kidnapping and also from Ludhiana when fellow militant Kuldeep Singh Keepa was killed.

Mr Shukla said Issi had confessed killing former minister Balwant Singh besides attacking SGPC president Gurcharan Singh Tohra near Sahnewal. A former legislator Hardial Singh Rajla who was travelling with Mr Tohra, was killed.

Mr Shukla said Issi was also responsible for the bomb attack on the convoy of former D.G.P. D.S. Mangat in February 1991 and that he had planted a bomb in the battery of a Swaraj Mazda parked on route of former Governor O.P. Malhotra in March 1991.

He said Issi was also responsible for kidnapping 20 persons of Choorchak village in February 1991 and looting of Rs 20 lakh from Oswal factory near Dhuri. He also confessed to having looted around Rs 1 crore from Nestle factory near Moga, Mr Shukla added.

Talking to TNS after the conference, Issi said he had left the "sangharsh" for Khalistan in 1991 when Panthic Committee leader Dr Sohan Singh told him that they were being used as pawns by Pakistan. He said he left his village Issi in Sangrur and shifted to Jabalpur along with his family where he bought two trucks.

Issi said he got involved in the movement for Khalistan when he joined the Sikh Student Federation. "After going to jail once I became fully involved in the movement", he said. He however, said he had realised the futility of his actions and quit the movement.

DIG Sanjeev Gupta said that the surrender of the top militant had sent a signal for others who were still evading arrest to surrender and be tried according to the law.