The World - News from Dec. 14, 1987

The leader of India’s 14 million Sikhs was freed from 10 days’ house arrest and immediately vowed fresh protests against the government. Authorities withdrew the house-arrest order against Darshan Singh Ragi because “his detention is no longer necessary,” the Patiala district magistrate said in a statement. Singh, the acting head of the Sikh religion, was arrested one day before he was to lead an anti-government march to New Delhi to press for political concessions for the north Indian state of Punjab. Sikhs are seeking political autonomy in the Punjab, where about 1,200 people have been killed in violence this year.