Peoria
stabbing victim and businessman was part of activist Sikh
family
Source:
http://www.pjstar.com/article/20150818/NEWS/150819256/1005/NEWS
Matt Buedel
Journal Star police reporter
Posted Aug. 18, 2015 at 12:01 AM
Updated Aug 18, 2015 at 11:05 PM
PEORIA — The unusually gruesome fatal wound Satwinder Singh
Bhola sustained in the parking lot outside his apartment a
few minutes after 12 a.m. Monday marked the end of an
unusual life.
The 52-year-old owner of Griswold
Grocery & Liquor and other businesses, including a hotel in
Annawan, came to the United States from India
three decades ago seeking asylum as a leader of a Sikh
separatist group, according to family and multiple overseas
news reports.
He also was the son-in-law of a prominent Sikh activist who
has been on a hunger strike in India since January in
protest of the continued detainment of 82 Sikhs beyond the
end of their prison terms. Media reports identify the
father-in-law as Bapu Surat Singh Khalsa, or simply Surat
Singh Khalsa.
Bhola’s wife also has been
identified with two names: Siemer Sidhu and Sarvinder Kaur.
She reportedly lives in Annawan, where the hotel is located.
She could not be reached Tuesday. Multiple media reports in
India indicate Bhola’s wife spent several months with her
father as he fasted and returned to the United States
earlier this month.
Bhola’s brother-in-law, Raminder Singh, confirmed Bhola’s
status as a Sikh leader who sought protection in America.
The India Times reported Bhola was spokesperson of All India
Sikh Student Federation at the peak of a period of militancy
in Punjab. Bhola spent two years in jail following a
military operation, then moved to California and,
eventually, Illinois.
Peoria police have not publicly identified a suspect in
Bhola’s slaying, but sources familiar with the investigation
say federal agents also are working on the case because of
the international ties and the neck wound that Bhola
sustained.
The injury was neither a stab wound nor a laceration. The
incise wound cut more than eight inches across, possibly an
attempted decapitation, authorities said.
Ravinderpal Singh Goggi, a son of the father-in-law on
hunger strike, told the Delhi Daily News the slaying could
have been committed by someone intent on undermining the
mission of the Sikh protest.
