Supercop' who brought Punjab militancy to its knees, dies

New Delhi: One of the most well known police officers in the country, Kanwar Pal Singh Gill, who was often referred to as the “supercop’’ for his role in eliminating militancy in Punjab died in the capital on Friday afternoon. The 82-year-old former chief of Punjab police suffered a cardiac arrest at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital where he was admitted since May 18. Doctors attending to the “supercop’’ said Gill was suffering from a severe kidney ailment and a heart problem. He breathed his last around 3 pm.

It was for his role in breaking the back of Punjab militancy that Gill was labelled as the “supercop.’’ Gill was regarded as one of the best counter-terrorism experts in the country after he virtually wiped out militancy from the border state of Punjab which had witnessed unprecedented incidents of terror during the 1980s and 90s.

While realising that the situation in Punjab, which is considered a sensitive state due to its border with Pakistan, was continuously deteriorating, Gill was handpicked by the Narasimha Rao government for a second term to head Punjab police to deal with terrorism. The message to the “supercop’’ from the Centre was clear: Finish militancy in Punjab at any cost. And if Gill’s track record as head of Punjab police is any indication, he performed his job with great deal of focus, determination and professionalism. The result being that till date pro-Khalistani subversive elements have not been able to revive their activities in Punjab despite repeated attempts.

Gill served as the director general of Punjab police in two separate tenures, first between 1988-90 and then from 1991-95. Gill was also the chief of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the country’s largest para-military unit and had also served as inspector general in another sensitive state, Assam, where he was posted for more than 20 years.

In his first tenure as head of Punjab police, the “supercop’’ led one of the most complex security operations carried out by the forces in May 1988 to flush out militants hiding in the Golden Temple. One of the main successes of Operation Black Thunder, unlike Operation Blue Star, was that there was very little damage was caused to the holy shrine.

Further, the operation was executed with minimum force and yet yielded significant results as 43 militants were killed while 67 others surrendered.

Former officers who worked with Gill during the peak of militancy in Punjab claim that he was known for his out-of-the-box solutions while dealing with problems.

Gill completely overhauled the local intelligence network in the militancy-infested districts of Punjab.

This in turn helped the state police in carrying out specific operations targeting militants.

One of the main highlights of Gill’s tenure was that he virtually took no help from the Army.

“Mr Gill always had great trust and faith in his force and would often say that I don’t need the Army in dealing with militancy. He would say, this is our problem and we will deal with it,” a former associate commented.

Realising the dividends that Gill’s strategy on the ground was yielding in dealing with terrorist, the Centre extended his tenure by a year post his retirement in 1994.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled Gill’s demise saying he would always be remembered for his service to the nation in fields of policing and security. In a tweet PM said, “K.P.S. Gill will be remembered for his service to our nation in the fields of policing & security. Pained by his demise. My condolences.’’

Finance and defence Minister Arun Jaitley also tweeted expressing his condolences on Gill’s death.

The UPA government had also used his expertise in dealing with the Naxal menace and he had advised the home ministry on some of the operations targeting Maoists in 2006.  

In 2000, Sri Lanka sought his expertise to draw a comprehensive counter-terrorism strategy against LTTE. It was found after the defeat of LTTE that the methods used by Sri Lanka were similar to the ones used by Gill in Punjab.

The police officer had his share of controversies as well, like when he kicked an agitator in Assam who later died. He was later exonerated by the court. There was also the sexual harassment case against him. A lady IAS officer filed a case saying that at a party in 1988, Gill had molested her (slapping the posterior). He was convicted by the court in this case.

A sports enthusiast, Gill was also associated with the Indian Hockey Federation as its chief.