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DID The SAS kill at Amritsar? Foreign Office hastily recalls files 'detailing UK role' in notorious Indian army crackdown on Sikhs Papers released by Whitehall this summer have been recalled amid fears they contain details of UK military assistance to India at Amritsar in 1984 Note was found by a researcher working at the Kew Archives Sikh Federation has called for a second investigation into UK involvement By Rebecca Taylor For Mailonline Published: 09:56, 4 November 2016 | Updated: 08:03, 5 November 2016 Prime Ministers of Indira Gandhi of India and Margaret Thatcher of Britain shown here at Delhi Airport in 1981 Dozens of files were pulled from the National Archives amid fears they detail British involvement in the Indian Army's attack on Amritsar in 1984. Papers were released from Whitehall to the National Archives this summer but recalled abruptly after the Sikh Federation wrote to Boris Johnson to tell him they had found 'delicate information' relating to 'UK military assistance to India'. A note, seen by the MailOnline, found by a researcher reportedly referred to the possibility of SAS involvement after 'an Indian request for military assistance in the setting up of a National Guard for internal security duties'. The note was written by a civil servant in the Foreign Office's South Asia department in July, 1984, and was copied to Ministry of Defence official and the high commissioner in Delhi. Hundreds of people were killed on June 6, 1984 when Indian troops stormed the Golden Temple at Amritsar, which was being held by a Sikh group. The three-day siege saw the Indian Army storm the Golden Temple to flush out the group and arrest Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale a Sikh leader and his followers. The Golden Temple in Amritsar India. In 1984 it was the scene of an assault by the Indian Army as they sought to flush out Sikh separatists As a result, Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards following the bloodbath. Nearly 3,000 people were subsequently killed in retaliatory riots against the Sikhs. In 2014, it was revealed that Britain may have had a role in Operation Blue Star, which sent shockwaves through India and the Sikh community. A review called for by David Cameron was criticised as having too narrow a scope, and concluded that the UK provided expert military advice after an urgent request from the Indian Intelligence Co-Coordinator. Margaret Thatcher with Indira Ghandi in the early 1980s. The Sikh Federation claims there is growing evidence of Thatcher's involvement with the Indian government before Operation Blue Star After the discovery of the 'delicate information' in the archives, human rights lawyers have written to the Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson on behalf of the Sikh Federation asking for another review. The call comes shortly before Prime Minister Theresa May's diplomatic visit to India next week. A statement released on the Sikh Federation's Twitter said: 'On the eve of her critical trade visit to India, she [Mrs May] is being pressured to come clean about the role played by the SAS in the Sikh genocide in the 1980s. 'There is increasing evidence that Margaret Thatcher's administration worked more closely with the Indian government than was known at the time. 'Vital new documents have been removed from the National Archives. 'There should be a full, independent investigation into these matters.' A government spokesman for the Foreign Office said: 'The FCO borrowed some of their files from 1984 that were released to the National Archives so they could read the content following concerns raised by the Sikh Federation. They will return all the files in full shortly. 'The issue of SAS advice prior to Operation Blue Star was dealt with in the 2014 report by the Cabinet Secretary. These files contain nothing about this incident.' ================================== http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3904460/DID-SAS-kill-Amritsar-Foreign-Office-hastily-recalls-files-detailing-UK-role-notorious-Indian-army-crackdown-Sikhs.html