Sukhdev Singh Sukha - Assassinations

Assassinations

Harjinder Singh Jinda and Sukhdev Singh Sukha along with Ranjit Singh Gill gunned down Congress(I) Member of Parliament Lalit Maken on July 31, 1985, when he was moving towards his car parked across the road from his house in Kirti Nagar, New Delhi. The three assailants continued firing even as Maken ran towards his house for cover. Maken's wife Geetanjali and a visitor, Balkishan, were also caught in the firing. The assailants escaped on their scooters. Lalit Maken was considered to be involved in the killings of Sikhs during 1984 Anti-Sikh riots. In a 31-page booklet titled 'Who Are The Guilty', People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) listed 227 people who led the mobs, which killed up to 3,000 Sikhs over three days. Lalit Maken's name was third on the list. Ranjit Singh "Gill" was arrested by Interpol in New Jersey, USA on May 14, 1987, he was deported back to India in May 1997 after lengthy legal cases and was sentenced to life imprisonment on February 24, 2003.

General Arun Vaidya was the Chief of the Indian Army who ordered the attack on the holiest of the Sikh shrines at Amritsar and elsewhere in Punjab during Operation Blue Star. He had moved to Pune after his retirement from the army. On August 10, 1986 General Arun Vaidya, the architect of Operation Blue Star was shot to death by Jinda and Sukha while he was driving his car home from the market. According to the police, the assailants pulled up next to his car on motor scooters and fired eight or nine shots into the car. Vaidya reportedly died instantly of head and neck wounds. His wife, who was also in the car, was wounded by four bullets in her back and thighs. According to Indian intelligence sources, Vaidya had been the number four assassination target on lists by Sikh militants and he was one of several people killed in retaliation for Operation Blue Star. Following the assassination, the Khalistan Commando Force issued a statement declaring that Vaidya had been killed in retaliation for the Golden Temple operation.

Congress (I) leader Arjan Dass was also assassinated by the duo because of his involvement in 1984 Anti-Sikh riots. Arjan Dass's name appeared in various affidavits submitted by innocent Sikh victims to Nanavati Commission which was headed by Justice G.T. Nanavati, retired Judge of the Supreme Court of India.