New Delhi, Apr 15: While Tihar Jail authorities wait for Devender Singh Pal Bhullar to be shifted back to prison from the Institute of Human Behaviour Allied Science (IHBAS), intelligence assessments have started trickling in, warning of an adverse fallout in Punjab of his impending execution. Intelligence circles are already debating whether his hanging should be carried out in secrecy, as was done in the case of Ajmal Kasab and Afzal Guru.
According to a senior intelligence official, the likely spectre of trouble from radical fringe elements in his home state, Punjab, and possible attempts by inimical forces across the border to capitalize on his hanging to underline the alienation of Sikhs in India, may force the government to avoid his body's last journey to Bhatinda. Instead, his cremation may be carried out on the Tihar premises itself.
The bodies of Indira Gandhi's assassins — Satwant Singh and Kehar Singh — were also not handed over to their kin and cremated in Tihar after their execution in 1989.
Yet, mindful of the widespread criticism of its failure to inform Afzal's family ahead of its hanging, the government may be more sensitive this time to the concerns of Bhullar's kin. Care may be taken to keep the family in the loop on the execution of his death sentence, while also ensuring that secrecy is not compromised.
"The stress will be to convince the family of the inevitability of his hanging, underlining how all judicial avenues were allowed and exhausted. The family can be persuaded to put national interest over their personal loss, and cooperate with the authorities on averting any negative repercussions of his hanging on law and order," said a senior officer of the security establishment.
Though security analysts do not see any immediate law and order exigency in Punjab on account of the rejection of Bhullar's plea for commuting of his death sentence, they are watching with interest the political handling of the fallout in the Shiromani Akali Dal-ruled Punjab. With SGPC already questioning the judgment and calling it "biased against Sikhs", it remains to be seen how the radical elements and the powerful deras in Punjab react to the development.
Though analysts like former Intelligence Bureau (IB) chief Ajit Kumar Doval do not see Bhullar's judgment reviving the undercurrent of militancy, they are concerned that some dormant extremist elements may resort to mischief and sell the notion of alienation of Sikhs to unemployed and radicalized youth of Punjab. With some of the Sikh militancy leaders - Wadhawa Singh of Babbar Khalsa, Khalistan Commando Force Paramjit Singh Panjwar and Tarsem Singh of the Khalistan Liberation Army - enjoying a safe haven in Pakistan for decades, their ISI mentors may step up pressure on them to use Bhullar's death sentence to paint India as an anti-Sikh nation.
However, not many think that this might revive militancy as a people's movement. "The Sikhs now no longer feel alienated and are involved in the political process. The people of Punjab have moved on, though fringe elements remain," former BSF director general UK Bansal told TOI. Doval, while pointing out that radicalized elements continue to enjoy support and funding from the Sikh diaspora, said this did not really point to return of militancy.
"The alienation caused by Bhullar's hanging will at most be a small contributory factor, apart from unemployment and poor political handling of the case's fallout. But, we should address these factors to avoid bigger problems," Doval added.
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