Sikh Group Says It Abducted Romanian Diplomat in India
A Sikh guerrilla group claimed responsibility Thursday for the abduction of the top Romanian diplomat in India, a news agency said.
Four armed men kidnaped Romania’s charge d’affaires, Liviu Radu, on Wednesday while he was driving to his embassy.
Police said the kidnaping was apparently in retaliation for the killing of a Sikh extremist and the arrest of two others who shot and wounded the Indian ambassador to Romania in Bucharest on Aug. 20.
Radicals among India’s 16 million Sikhs are leading a violent campaign for secession of the state of Punjab, charging that they are discriminated against by the Hindu-dominated government.
Press Trust of India said it received a call claiming responsibility for Radu’s abduction. The news agency said the caller identified himself as Kulwant Singh Gumti, the commander of Liberation Tigers Force of Khalistan, a little-known and the newest among the estimated dozen Sikh rebel groups in Punjab.
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