Planned to kill Sukhbir, mastermind tells police

Aman Sood

Tribune News Service

Patiala, October 19

German Singh (23), who was arrested in Rajasthan on Thursday, has told the Patiala police that he had planned to assassinate Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, holding the latter responsible for the Behbal Kalan police firing incident in which two Sikh protesters were killed.

Sources said German Singh had asked Amrat Singh, Gurjant and Karan Singh – who were arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Police recently — to arrange an INSAS rifle and other weapons, which were to be used during the SAD rally here on October 7.

“The actual target was not former CM Parkash Singh Badal, as claimed by the trio during an interrogation by the UP cops,” the sources said.

German Singh reportedly said he had told Amrat and the others that he would keep an eye on the former CM at the rally, even though his aim was to fire at Sukhbir.

The youth was the mastermind of a recent arms robbery in Uttar Pradesh’s Shamli district. His three accomplices had looted two rifles and ammunition from a police check post after injuring two cops.

A source in the intelligence wing said the interrogation revealed that German Singh, a Class XII passout, was in touch with Kashmiri separatists on Facebook. “He was also chatting with a Pakistan-based man. It is yet to be ascertained whether this conversation was linked to the plan pertaining to the SAD rally,” the source added.

A senior officer said German Singh and his accomplices could not execute the plan as they failed to transport the weapons from UP to Punjab. “We were on the alert after the weapon robbery. German had hid the arms and had himself left for Punjab,” the UP Police said.

The Patiala police procured German Singh’s police remand till October 23 after he was brought here in the wee hours of Friday and presented before the duty magistrate.

Meanwhile, the Shamli police have arrested Karam Singh, a co-accused in the weapon robbery case.