Manchanda, director of the All India Radio station in Patiala, Punjab, was abducted by members of the militant organization Babbar Khalsa. They demanded that electronic media adhere to a code of conduct, which included broadcasting in the local language of Punjabi rather than Hindi. Negotiations for Manchanda’s release broke down after the government failed to meet the deadline set for complying with Babbar Khalsa’s demands. On May 27, the militants beheaded the journalist.