1991 Punjab killings

1991 Punjab killings
1991 Punjab killings
Location	Ludhiana district, Punjab, India
Date	15 June 1991
Attack type	Mass shooting
Deaths	80-126
Perpetrators	Sikh Khalistani militants

Coordinates: 30°52′59″N 75°51′00″E / 30.883°N 75.85°E / 30.883; 75.85 The 1991 Punjab killings was a massacre of train passengers that occurred on 15 June 1991 in the Ludhiana district of the Indian State of Punjab, where Khalistani militants killed at least 80 to 126 passengers^[1] travelling in two trains.

Events[]

June 1991[]

The militants stopped the two trains about a kilometre from Ludhiana station by pulling the emergency cords, triggering emergency brakes. They proceeded to open fire inside the trains at around 9:35 p.m. (IST), killing at least 80 passengers.^[2] After the attackers fled, the train moved back to Badduwal station, where the rescue team arrived with doctors. Local villagers helped the survivors with food, water, medicine, and mental support.^[3] The attacks came less than five hours after polling closed in a national election already marred by violence and interrupted by the assassination of ex-Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi around a month prior.^[3]

December 1991[]

Four men, believed to have been Sikhs because of their turbans, boarded a local passenger train travelling from Ludhiana to Ferozepur at Ludhiana. They pulled the emergency cord about 7:30 in the evening near a village called Sohian. Six other armed militants climbed aboard the train at the Sohian crossing. The militants shot at passengers who appeared to be Hindu using AK-47s. All but two of the 49 victims were Hindus. After the massacre, the gunmen left the train and disappeared into the night.^[4]

References[]

^ "Sikhs attack India trains, killing 126". Chicago Sun-Times. 17 June 1991. Archived from the original on 15 June 2011. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
^ "110 in two trains gunned down by Punjab militants". The Indian Express. 16 June 1991. p. 1. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
^ ^a ^b Crossette, Barbara (16 June 1991). "Extremists in India Kill 80 on 2 Trains As Voting Nears End". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
^ Gargan, Edward A. (27 December 1991). "49 Slain by Gunmen on Train in India". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 March 2018.

External links[]

"74 were killed in Punjab train carnage". The Indian Express. 17 June 1991. p. 5. Retrieved 9 December 2019.