London, Oct 6 (IANS): Twelve people have so far been arrested for an attempt on the life of Lt. Gen. (retd) K.S. Brar, who led an Indian Army operation into the Golden Temple in Punjab in 1984, police said Friday.

The Counter Terrorism Command of London Metropolitan Police held eight people Friday, including a 38-year-old woman, for the Sep 30 attack on 78-year-old Brar.

Earlier, a 33-year-old man and a woman were arrested in Wolverhampton Thursday. A third person, a 34-year-old man, was held in West Bromwich. The fourth person nabbed is a 25-year-old man.

All the accused are currently lodged in police stations in central London and west London.

The police are also carrying out searches in different residential addresses in South Shields, Birmigham and London for more suspects, appealing to the public for information.

Brar, who was on the hit-list of Sikh militant groups, was on a private visit to London when he was attacked by four men "wearing dark clothing and long black jackets".

The retired general and his wife Meena returned to India Oct 3.