The Indian army used excessive force; eyewitnesses say that the army deployed tanks, armed personnel carriers, rocket launchers, machine guns and helicopters. Ultimately this built up anger in the hearts of Sikhs worldwide which lead to the assassination of Ms. Indira Gandhi. On October 31st, at 9:15 AM, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi Was shot by two of her security guards and rushed to All India Institute of Medical Sciences and pronounced dead at 6:00 PM. This later resulted in some of the worst carnage in India since Partition. The Indian government knew very well that Sikhs would be blamed for this murder. The riots of 1984 in Delhi were part of an act of genocide committed on a minority group setup and supported by the so called biggest democracy in the world. .
A climate of violence and terrorism had been building up in India, particularly Punjab and Delhi for years. This should have necessitated the taking of steps towards adequate security and preventive measures. During the time gap between the attempt of assassination and the official announcement of Gandhi's death, the time too take preventing measures against civil disorder and violence was more than enough. The police was virtually invisible, but even later during the evening when a number of incidents were know to have occurred, there have been accusations by the witnesses that they police was apathetic, indifferent, or worse gave encouragement to the mobs.
There is no information regarding investigations into crimes of looting, mayhem, arson, rape, murder, abductions, etc. The bail accepted by the police was said to have been as ridiculously low as Rs. 250. Even those arrested for brutal killings were released by the police either on bail or in several instances at the go ahead of some political leaders. .
When a civil power is unable to control a situation of disorder, it may call upon the military authorities to its aid.
