32nd anniversary of Operation Blue Star being observed at Golden Temple

Amid the tight security and the bandh call given by Sikh organisation Dal Khalsa in Amritsar, 32nd anniversary of Operation Blue Star is being observed at the Golden Temple today.

According to reports, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Avtar Singh Makkar have appealed to all sections to exercise restraint and observe the anniversary peacefully.

Nearly 8,000 police personnel, besides six companies of paramilitary forces, have reportedly been camping in Amritsar for a week to maintain law and order situation ahead of the anniversary.

The police, according to reports, have detained several hardliners as a preventive measure.

Operation Blue Star was an Indian military operation which occurred in 1984, ordered by former prime minister Indira Gandhi in order to establish control over the Golden Temple Complex to flush out the extremists led by Jarnail Singh Bhindrawale.

Bhindranwale, who had taken residence in the temple, made it his headquarters in April 1983.

According to the official estimate presented by the Indian government, 492 civilians were killed, though numbers put forward by independent human rights organizations are significantly higher.