Assassination of Arjun Dass

On the morning of 4 September 1985, at approximately 9:20 am, Arjun Dass — a member of the Delhi Metropolitan Council and a close associate of Sanjay Gandhi within the Congress party — was assassinated at his auto parts shop in a crowded Delhi marketplace. Three Sikh assailants, identified as Harjinder Singh Jinda, Sukhdev Singh Sukha, and a third member of Jinda's group, carried out the attack. Dass's bodyguard, a police constable, was also killed, and six other people were injured in the incident.

The assassination was reported to be in retaliation for Dass's alleged role in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, a series of organized pogroms against Sikhs that followed the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards. Government estimates placed the death toll from the riots at roughly 2,800 in Delhi and 3,350 nationwide, while independent estimates ranged considerably higher, between 8,000 and 17,000. Eyewitnesses and human rights groups identified Arjun Dass as having led mobs during the violence, including an incident in which a mob under his leadership reportedly desecrated the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh holy scripture.

Following the riots, Jinda and Sukha compiled a list of politicians they believed were responsible for organizing the violence, which included Dass along with H.K.L. Bhagat, Lalit Maken, Jagdish Tytler, Sajjan Kumar, Dharam Das Shastri, Jasbir Singh Jatt, and K.C. Pant. The same pair had already assassinated Congress MP Lalit Maken on 31 July 1985, an attack that also killed Maken's wife and a visitor.

During the attack on Dass, Jinda acted as the getaway driver on a scooter while the two other assailants approached on foot and a three-wheeler, having removed identifying marks from their vehicles. Dass's guard was shot in the head and killed instantly; another guard was also shot. The assailants then fired into Arjun Dass, discharging a total of 29 bullets between the group's weapons, before fleeing while shouting "Long live Khalistan."

Police response arrived roughly five minutes after the shooting. Dass was taken for emergency treatment and pronounced dead at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. Roadblocks were established across Delhi and neighboring districts within an hour. In the aftermath, the Indian Home Ministry began planning anti-terrorist squads for key cities, and enhanced security — including personnel from the Central Reserve Police Force, National Security Guard, Delhi Armed Police, Border Security Force, and Intelligence Bureau — was extended to other politicians named in connection with the 1984 riots, including Jagdish Tytler, Dharam Das Shastri, H.K.L. Bhagat, and Sajjan Kumar.