punjab

Updated: May 09, 2017 21:56 IST

Amid the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Punjab Police struggling to crack high-profile political murders in Punjab, a song glorifying these killings has surfaced, sending the agencies in a tizzy.

The eight-minute Punjabi song, that is suspected to have been recorded by Sikh radicals in London’s Southhall, takes responsibility for the recent murders of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Shiv Sena leaders in Punjab. The motive it says is to take “revenge” for the increasing influence of the Hindu right-wing outfits in the state’s rural areas.

The song, which has been shared on private WhatsApp groups, has poor sound quality and seems to be recorded in an ordinary studio.

Starting and ending with sounds of gunshots, the song categorically takes responsibility for the killings of RSS state vice-president Jagdish Gagneja and Shiv Sena leaders Durga Parshad Gupta and Amit Sharma. It repeatedly talks about a “hit list” and warns that no one on it will be spared.

The song also claims the group’s “eagle’s eye” is closely monitoring former Punjab director generals of police (DGPs) KPS Gill, JS Ribeiro, Sumedh Singh Saini and Mohammad Izhar Alam, who were at the helm during militancy, besides Lieutenant General Kuldeep Singh Brar (retd), who commanded the Operation Bluestar. Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda and Jalandhar-based Divya Jyoti Jagriti Sansthan also find mention in the song.

‘Open challenge or diversionary tactic’

The timing of this song is very significant, said a top Punjab Police official in the intelligence wing.

“At a time when both Punjab Police and the CBI have gathered some vital clues, the perpetrators have come out with an open challenge. Either it’s their strategy to divert the attention of the probing agencies or it’s an open challenge to us,” he said.

Sources said it could also be an attempt to gain sympathy and support of the Sikh community by terming the killings a “revenge”.

“It’s a well-planned strategy and a serious matter. During militancy, too, songs were released to attract the youth,” said an additional director generals of police (ADGP)-rank official.

“It’s not the first time that efforts have been made to divert the attention of the investigating agencies. Earlier too, mails were sent to media houses by a little known group, Dashmesh Regiment, claiming responsibility for Gagneja’s and Gupta’s murders. They turned out to be fake,” said an inspector general of police-rank official.

Even as the investigating agencies are closely monitoring social media networks, such as Facebook, sources said Punjab Police is planning to write to these networks to prevent the song’s dissemination and track those who may share it.

The cases involving the murder of Gagneja, Gupta, Namdhari sect head’s mother Chand Kaur and two Dera Sacha Sauda followers in Khanna were handed over to the CBI in September last year after Punjab Police cited “foreign hand” behind these killings.