Akali leader Makkar’s killer gets life sentence

In 2013, Batala police had caught Mintu in a 4kg heroin haul case, but he was later arrested by Jalandhar police in murder case

1987 CASE

AKALI LEADER SURINDER SINGH MAKKAR WAS SHOT DEAD BY FOUR MILITANTS AT HIS HOUSE IN JALANDHAR IN 1987; THREE OTHERS HAVE DIED

JALANDHAR: The court of additional district and sessions judge, Jalandhar, on Saturday sentenced militant Satinderjit Singh alias Mintu to life imprisonment for killing Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Surinder Singh Makkar in 1987.

Mintu was convicted under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, the Indian Penal Code, and the Arms Act. A fine of ₹2.1 lakh was also imposed on him.

Surinder, 35, was the elder brother of Sarabjit Singh Makkar, a former Akali leader who has now joined the BJP, and close aide of veteran SAD leader Harchand Singh Longowal.

In 1987, Surinder was shot dead by four militants at his house in Jalandhar. Mintu was presently in judicial custody in a separate case.

Counsel for Surinder, Mandeep Singh Sachdev, said three other militants – Hardeep Singh, Harvinder Singh and Palwinder Singh – have already died.

The case was registered on the statement of Surinder’s housekeeper Swaran Kaur.

In 2013, Batala police had caught Mintu in a 4kg heroin haul case, but Jalandhar police had later formally arrested him in the murder case.

In 1988, Mintu had moved to Kanpur, where he was also involved in the killing of a local MLA.

Surinder’s brother Sarabjit said the family finally got justice after 35 years.

“We still get threats from the people involved in the drugs nexus for pursuing the case.

“We made many efforts to trace the case files which had gone missing and later got the chargesheet filed in the court,” he added.