Government forces fired at the Golden Temple today after seizing surrounding buildings and tightening their grip on the shrine, where militant Sikh separatists were holed up for a sixth day. Sikh extremists and government commandos traded intermittent fire through the night inside the sprawling temple complex, home of the Sikh faith's holiest sanctuary. At least 27 people, mostly Sikh militants, have been killed during the siege that began Monday. About 20 women and children, thought to be relatives of the militants, remain in the temple, Amritsar Police Chief K.P.S. Gill said. Government forces on Friday seized about one-third of the complex, including adjacent temple offices and a hostel. That left the militants with the equivalent of 3{ city blocks, including the temple. The extremists inside the temple complex are thought to number fewer than 100. Police sharpshooters killed at least six militants Friday, including one who tried to shoot his way out of the complex. Police said no government troops have been killed since the siege began. About 2,800 troops are posted outside the temple. Most of the militants are believed to be entrenched at the western side of the complex, officers said. But they said any government assault would more likely come from the west, officers said. ``The eastern side is difficult to enter because terrorists are still holding two 80-foot towers overlooking that entrance,'' said a paramilitary officer who spoke on condition of anonymity. Authorities escorted journalists to a sandbagged position atop a buildimg overlooking the towers today. In a two-hour period, government troops regularly fired machine gun bursts into the temple compound, but only sporadic shots were returned. S.D.S. Aswal, deputy superintendent of the Central Reserve Police Force, said the Sikhs did not fire from the tower in daylight because that would give away their position: ``They start firing from portholes cut into the tower after late evening.'' The bunker had a commanding view of the Golden Temple and the sacred pool that surrounds it. One body was seen lying near a marble walkway. In the square facing the compound's main entrance, cane-wielding police charged at a group of Sikhs who attempted to march into the temple. At least eight marchers were arrested, said witnesses who spoke on condition of anonymity. The siege is the biggest massing of forces outside the Golden Temple since June 1984, when the army stormed the 400-year-old shrine to dislodge the Sikh militants. More than 1,200 people were killed, and Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who ordered the raid, was assassinated five months later by her Sikh bodyguards. Sikh militants have waged a campaign of violence, often gunning down whole family of Hindus and moderate Sikhs, in their battle to establish a Sikh homeland in northern Punjab state, which includes Amritsar. Although Sikhs form only 2 percent of India's total population, they are a majority in Punjab. The Sikhs say they are discriminated against by Hindus, who comprise 82 percent of India's 800 million people.
