‘When Punjab Militants Had Advantage Of Dense Sugarcane Fields, KPS Gill Got Bulletproofed Tractors To Mow Them Down’

Loved and hated in equal measure, former Punjab DGP Kunwar Pal Singh Gill, who passed away at 82 on Friday, remained embroiled in controversies but to whom goes the credit for stamping out militancy from Punjab.

An Assam cadre IPS officer, Gill volunteered to come to his home state when the militancy was at its peak. Such was the gloom prevailing in Punjab, with daily headlines on the number of killings and massacres, that a large section of residents had given up all hope on Punjab. 

It was a period when the security forces would dominate during the day time and the militants ruled at night. Common people suffered excesses from both sides. Streets in cities and towns were deserted before sunset and even the highways had little traffic with those having to travel for unavoidable reasons forming caravans of vehicles to protect themselves from militants.

KPS Gill then ordered something that was unimaginable and decided to lead from the front. He would venture out with a few escort vehicles late into the night and travel across the areas which were worst hit by militancy. He subsequently invited, and even cajoled, reporters and photographers to travel with him on such missions. This writer too accompanied him on several such tours under "Operation Night Dominance". Initially it was a scary experience but with a calm Gill at your side, at times reciting Urdu couplets, the sense of fear disappeared.

His convoy took undisclosed routes and his sudden visits to police stations late into night ensured that the personnel on duty remained alert. At times he would call meetings with district police chiefs, all hand-picked by him, late into nights in remote areas only for a chat and discussion on the current situation. The idea was only to keep them on their toes.

Besides "Operation Night Dominance", he came up with several out-of-box ideas. For instance, his men would often face the disadvantageous situation of militants holed up in sugarcane fields. The thick and tall growth provided them protection and shelter while the security personnel would become easy targets. He came out with the idea of bullet proofing ordinary tractors to take on such militants. A large number of militants were killed in such operations with bulletproof tractors mowing down sugarcane fields and exposing militants.

In yet another step to generate confidence, he invited the then reigning Bollywood actor Sridevi during the time when film units would refrain from shooting in Punjab and the number of visitors to the state had trickled down to almost zero. Her photographs in newspapers being feted by Gill helped infuse confidence. He also organised mushairas and shows and encouraged others also to do so.

But he was ruthless when it came to stamping out militancy. No wonder he and his men were hated and accused of gross human rights violations. He not only gave a freehand to his officers but made sure that they got his complete backing. He glossed over excesses and kept the pressure on his subordinates to deliver results. He was revered by them and he continued to look after their welfare even after he had retired.

His first major success was the conduct of Operation Black Thunder in 1988. Unlike the infamous Operation Bluestar in 1984 which resulted in huge number casualties and caused unending anguish to everyone, particularly the Sikhs, Operation Black Thunder did not result in any deaths or disrespect to the Golden Temple.

One of his innovations was the creation of 'cats'. They were former militants who had been forced or convinced to join hands with the police and became informants. Some of them too indulged in excesses. It was also alleged that a few of them were actually policemen in mufti. They were able to get inside information about militants which helped in neutralising them. Several human rights activists had also alleged that they indulged in rapes and murders and shifted the blame on militants "to deliberately malign the movement".

It was during Gill's watch that some human rights activists like Jaswinder Singh Khalra "disappeared" while extra judicial killings became common. Apart from several allegations of such killings, he also got embroiled in other controversies. In one such incident he was accused by a senior lady IAS officer of sexually harassing her at a party thrown by another senior officer. He lost the case and was awarded a day's imprisonement for his misconduct. Later even the Supreme Court did not revoke his conviction.

His ruthless attitude made him the biggest target of militants but they didn't succeed in coming close to him. He, however, could not prevent the assassination of Sant Harchand Singh Longowal, shortly after he had signed a peace accord with the then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi. He also could not prevent the assassination of his mentor and boss, chief minister Beant Singh, who had provided him the free hand and backing to fight militancy.

In his passing away, the country has lost one of its most iconic police officers. His strategies and methods, besides his raw courage, would be remembered whenever such situations arise.

 (Vipin Pubby is a former Resident Editor of The Indian Express, Chandigarh. He has been a journalist since 1979 and has extensively covered the political and social developments in the Indian states of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal, Jammu and Kashmir, Gujarat and the  North-Eastern states.)