A cool head and a large heart, always unruffled and focused during anti-militant Operations
S S Virk
On May 28 last, the most towering personality donning police uniform in the eighties and nineties disappeared in flames.
A unified group of Delhi Police, Central Reserve Police Force and Punjab Police gave a joint salute before the dead body of Mr Kanwar Pal Singh Gill, former DGP of Punjab Police and CRPF, the pyre was lit at the Lodhi Road Cremation Ground in New Delhi.
With moist eyes we bid adieu to the “miracle Cop” who formulated the strategy of anti-terrorist operations and put an end to the activities of killer groups of militants who
practically ruled the interior areas of Punjab, indulged in
wanton killings and almost brought the state of Punjab to a breaking point.
People gathered there were from all section of
society- politicians, retired bureaucrats, social workers,
journalists, retired Army officers and large numbers of
serving and retired police and para- military officers. Many of them were his staunch critics, who never approved of the means which Mr Gill adopted to get the desired results in operations. But even those who disagreed with him
professionally had full faith in his commitment to the fight against militancy. Some others like us who worked with him closely could also swear by his secular and democratic
credentials, besides the above commitment.
It was in 1984 that Government of India decided to send a few IPS officers who belonged to Punjab but were working in different states, to work in Punjab and provide leadership to Punjab Police who had come under extreme pressure of Sikh militants. The list issued in parts included Shri P S Bhinder (Haryana) K S Dhillon, M L Trikha , Chaman Lal (all M P), KPS Gill (Assam), B S Bedi (UP) and myself (Maharashtra).
It was during this period that I had a chance to meet Mr Gill when he cameto take charge as IG, PAP and Operations, at Jalandhar where I was posted as Sr S P
Working at different levels in
different wings of Punjab Police, we tried to play our role but elections to the State Assembly was ordered in 1985 and by September 1985, most officers were sent back suddenly.
Later, we all reassembled in 1986 when Shri Gill came back as IG, CRPF with me as DIG CRPF and his deputy at Amristar.
Violence was at its peak in the Majha area with shoot-outs taking place almost daily. It was at that moment that we, under his leadership, revised our
operational strategies, formed sectors, sub-sectors, with joint deployment of Punjab Police and the Para-Military Forces (CRPF and BSF). We also planned patrolling, joint operations, sharing information, generating field intelligence which were introduced in a big way and yielded good results.
We established a CRPF Control Room in Canal Rest House, Amritsar which we developed as nerve-centre of our operations. Mr Gill and myself even lived in that building for years so as to be available round-the-clock for operational duties. We made this place an active hub of security forces holding meetings there and launching all operations from there. That room became the operational headquarter of Mr Gill in Amritsar in all later phases of his career as well.
A year later, he was again called back to take over as Additional DGP (Operation) in Punjab in 1987 where he led all security forces in the operations. The fight continued with successes and failures, ups and downs.
His greatest role as Operations leader was to make the force dominate the strongholds of militants and involving the senior officers in field operations.
I distinctly remember the chilly December nights when we laid ambushes in the Mand or other areas where
terrorists’ writ ran. I have seen him personally leading ambushes in most difficult areas. Then holding training camps in the Mand areas to prepare the force where the groups coming from outside Punjab were given pre-induction training, where the Punjab problem was explained to them with religious issues involved along with local customs and practices, besides knowing the dos and donts while performing their duty.
It was not only the operational front but attempts were made to marginalize the militants on each front. Regular meetings with different groups of
society, journalists, professors and teachers, sportsmen and social
workers—a slow process of social detoxification was initiated.
A cultural troupe was formed in Punjab Police which performed “melas” of rural Punjab to reach out to public. Operational pressure was mounted and militant were also encouraged to
surrender. These steps resulted in
dilution of the support bases of militants and helped in improving the situation.
And then came Operation Black Thunder II, which started when I was hit by a bullet fired by a militant on my jaw outside the Golden Temple in May 1988. By now, Mr Gill was D G Punjab and that is when we saw police leadership at its best. No police entry into the Temple, all exit points blocked, all devotees called out and only the militants inside, totally isolated and given the option to surrender. Only a few got to be killed in exchange of firing as after a few days, they surrendered as all of them came out with raised hands. He had achieved the result without much firing, damage or even without entering the Golden Temple Only a small part of Amritsar city was under curfew and the entire operation was
openly conducted with media watching it.
This was indeed the greatest professional success which was internationally acknowledged and acclaimed. He continued to lead Punjab Police upto 1995 till total normalcy returned barring a few incidents here and there. But by then peace had been consolidated and Punjab Police had been galvanised into an effective anti-terrorist force. He also prepared the younger officers for leadership in crisis. A cool head and a large heart, he was always unruffled, focused and at peace during operations.
He encouraged young officers to understand, analyse, research and the prepare innovative operational strategies.
A few weeks before his death, I was shocked to see him on TV where he looked seriously ill. I phoned him and he asked me to come along for a chat. I spent about an hour with him where we talked about those days of senseless violence and relived a few deadly experiences. But during the meeting I could see that he looked tired, weak and just a pale shadow of himself. He also mentioned that those who gained maximum from the peace ushered in by us remained his greatest critics all along, a fact that pained him. I could make out the stress and strain of ill-health but could not imagine that end would come so soon.
Rest in Peace, General. I and many more like me who learnt a lot from you while restoring peace in Punjab would miss you.
(The writer is a former DGP, Punjab and Maharashtra)
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