New Delhi:
The government has called a meeting next week to review the security for those who were involved with Operation Bluestar against Sikh terrorists holed up in the Golden Temple in 1984. Last week, Lieutenant General (retd) Kuldeep Singh Brar was stabbed in London in what he described as an assassination attempt. 15 people have been arrested by the British Police for that attack.
The meeting, to be chaired by Union Home Secretary RK Singh, will be attended by representatives of the Army and the Maharashtra Police. They will review whether a security lapse allowed the assault on Mr Brar, who is 78. The security provided to other senior officers who participated in Operation Bluestar will also be studied.
(Read: Govt to review security of officers)Lt General Brar, who is provided Z category security, the second-most extensive category of protection offered in the country, said he had informed officials about his plans to visit London. The Home Ministry denied receiving any such communication.
Responding to media reports that the centre is planning to ask him to move out of Mumbai, where he lives in a high-security cantonment area, Mr Brar said in an interview today that he will resist that suggestion if it is made to him. He said he finds Mumbai - his home of 20 years - "absolutely safe" and that he cannot be treated like a "football".
"There is no threat to the place where I stay. What is a safer place than this, unless it is in the middle of a forest, or in a prison or in a war cell. I don't want to live a prisoner's life," the highly-decorated officer said to the Press Trust of India.
(With inputs from Agencies)