The World - News from Oct. 12, 1988

Suspected Sikh extremists assassinated the vice president of the Punjab wing of the ruling Congress-I Party and two other people, two days before a visit by Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi to Punjab state. Assailants opened fire with automatic weapons inside the grain shop owned by Bhagwan Dass, who was also a former state Cabinet minister. Dass, his bodyguard and another man were killed. Police blamed the attack on Sikhs fighting for independence for Punjab state, home to 14 million of India’s 16 million Sikhs. Gandhi arrives Thursday to inspect damage from the worst flooding in northern India in a decade.