Sikh gang convicted of slashing retired Indian general's throat on London street in revenge attack for 1984 Amritsar massacre which left at least 500 people dead

Lieutenant General Kuldip Singh Brar was attacked in London last year

He was involved in Operation Blue Star against Sikh militants in 1984

Operation in Amritsar, north west India, left at least 500 people dead

Two men and a woman have now been found guilty of wounding with intent

A third man had already admitted the charge



A Sikh gang was today convicted of slashing a retired Indian general’s throat in a revenge attack for a military operation nearly 30 years ago which left at least 500 dead.



Lieutenant General Kuldip Singh Brar, 78, was attacked as he walked with his wife Meena, in Old Quebec Street, central London, on September 30 last year.



Lt Gen Brar was involved in a controversial military operation - Operation Blue Star - against Sikh militants in Amritsar, north west India, in June 1984.

Lieutenant General Kuldip Singh Brar, who was involved in Operation Blue Star in 1984, was attacked as he walked with his wife in London last year

Dilbag Singh (left), from London, and Mandeep Singh Sandhu (right), from Birmingham, have been convicted of wounding with intent



The operation left at least 500 people dead and turned Lt Gen Brar into the target of revenge attacks.



Mandeep Singh Sandhu, 34, of Birmingham, and Londoners Dilbag Singh, 37, and Harjit Kaur, 39, were all convicted of wounding with intent.



The jury of nine women and two men took just an hour to convict them.

Southwark Crown Court heard that Barjinder Singh Sangha, 33, of Wolverhampton, has already admitted the charge.

The victim’s role in the Indian Army, overseeing 'a number of military operations... made him a target for Sikh extremist groups', the trial heard.



The crown argued the defendants launched 'a highly premeditated assault'.

Harjit Kaur (left), from London, has also been convicted of wounding with intent. Barjinder Singh Sangha, from Wolverhampton, had already admitted the charge



The trial heard how the victim's role in the Indian Army 'made him a target for Sikh extremist groups'

Kaur was described as being key to the ambush.



She boarded the same bus as the old soldier and his wife of 28 years to track their movements and phone through reports to the alleged attackers who were waiting.



The couple were on their way from their hotel for a night in the West End when the attack happened.



They visited London annually for about 15 years.



The crown said Sangha 'drew a knife as the other men held the victim'.

Sikhs protest after the storming of the Golden Temple at Amritsar

The Indian army attack took place at the Golden Temple of Amritsar, India

The ex-soldier, who was left with a cut running across his jaw and neck and another to the jaw, has survived several assassination attempts

The ex-soldier was left with a 12-inch cut running across his jaw and neck and another three inch cut to the jaw.



OPERATION BLUESTAR: THE MILITARY ACTION WHICH LEFT HUNDREDS DEAD

Operation Bluestar was an Indian military operation against Sikh separatists in Amritsar's Golden Temple.

Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi ordered the attack in June 1984 after Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, leader of the Damdami Taksal - a Sikh religious group - and political revolutionary, had been accused of amassing weapons at the Sikh temple and starting an armed uprising, a notion which has been rejected by Sikh scholars.

The attack was carried out by army troops with tanks, artillery, helicopters and armoured vehicles.

Tensions increased following the attacks as Sikhs across the globe reacted with anger.

The increased tensions led to attacks on Sikhs in India.

Later that year, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her own Sikh bodyguards, triggering a further wave of retaliation that left nearly 3,000 Sikhs dead.

The victim has survived several assassination attempts and still receives death threats.



Lt Gen Brar, speaking via a videolink from India, said as a result of the attack his protection ranking was raised to the highest possible in India.



The defendants showed no reaction when they were convicted.



The trio along with Singh Sangha will be sentenced on September 19 after pre-sentencing reports are produced.

Mari Reid, of the Crown Prosecution Service’s Counter Terrorism Division, said: 'This was a violent and life-threatening attack carried out by Sikh extremists on the streets of London’s West End.



'Lieutenant General Brar sustained deep cuts to his face and neck in full view of his wife near their hotel on Old Quebec Street.



'Lieutenant General Brar was targeted in a highly planned and premeditated attack. Harjit Kaur was instrumental in carrying out reconnaissance of the area and followed the Brars around London.



'The couple were set upon in what was a swift, effective and terrifying ambush; Sandhu and Singh held Lieutenant General Brar down as Sangha slashed at his neck with a knife.

