Lalit Maken and his wife, Geetanjali, were in all probability victims of terrorist bullets, police sources said. According to the sources, all the leads uncovered so far seem to indicate the involvement of terrorists rather than trade union or political rivals — particularly the sophisticated weapons used and the modus operandi of the killers. Although they are still trying to confirm whether the weapons were Sten guns or semi-automatic Mauser pistols, police suspicions are on the latter.
Home Minister S B Chavan’s statement and replies in both houses of Parliament on Thursday over the assassination of Lok Sabha member Lalit Maken and his wife, while failing to quench the anguish and concern being felt by members both inside and outside the houses, also laid bare the bureaucratic and procedural loopholes in the intelligence and law-and-order machinery in the capital. One question that was agitating the members was why Maken’s security guard was withdrawn just two days before the assassination.
India is understood to have again conveyed to Pakistan during the current round of talks between the foreign secretaries of the two countries its grave concern about the assistance that the terrorists had been getting from across the border. It is understood that the concern was also about Pakistan’s nuclear programme.
India made a gesture of goodwill towards Bangladesh when it reportedly agreed to sign a fresh agreement on sharing of Ganga waters. Sources close to the Bangladesh Foreign Ministry said Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s special envoy, Shiv Shankar, during a meeting with President Ershad indicated the country’s willingness to renew the agreement, which expired on January 31 this year. It may be made functional for three to five years.
