Remembering 1984 Sikh Riots in Bokaro: The Police?

India’s famous top cop Julio Ribeiro wrote this Bal Thackeray opinion piece in DNA yesterday. Good revealing stuff about his interactions with the SS chief. The following paragraph stood out in bold 24-point font:

On the day Mrs Gandhi was assassinated, I had publicly ordered my men to open fire if Sikhs were attacked. Balasaheb wanted to know if I had the authority to issue such instructions. I had to educate him on the meaning of the English word “if” before he regained his composure.

Now we know why Bombay didn’t go through any anti-Sikh riots. It’s also obvious that the police leadership in Bokaro in those crucial days of 1984 was lacking (to put it mildly). Were they muzzled by the Congress leaders? Or also complicit?

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this post will be continued after I do some research on police (in)action

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