General Labh Singh

Labh Singh (or "General Labh Singh") was a former Punjab Police officer^[1] who took command of the Khalistan Commando Force after its founder, General Manbir Singh Chaheru, died in late 1980s ^[2][3]. He was an associate of Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and he had fought against Indian army during Operation Bluestar^[4]. He was credited for re-structuring Khalistan Commando Force with a fluid hierarchy. He was involved in the attack on the Director-General of the Punjab Police Julio Francis Ribeiro. He also took part in the Indian history's biggest bank robbery of Rs. 5.70 crore (US$4.5 million) from Punjab National Bank, Miller Gunj branch, Ludhiana^[5] to finance violent campaign for a separate Sikh state of Khalistan.^[6][7].

Early life

Labh Singh's original name was Sukhdev Singh and he was also known as Sukha Sipahi^[8][9]. He was born in 1952 to Mr. Puran Singh and Mrs. Kulwant Kaur in the village of Panjwar, District Amritsar, Punjab, India. In 1980, he married Davinder Kaur according to Sikh rites and had two sons Rajashwar Singh and Pardeep Singh. He served in police force for 12 years^[10].

Association with Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale

In 1983, he left his job with the Punjab Police to join the Sikh separatist leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale^[11]. During Operation Blue Star, he fought against Indian Army along with other Sikh militants^[12]. Arrested by the army after the operation, he was sent to Jodhpur Jail where he spent two years without trial.

Association with Khalistan Commando Force

He escaped from police cutody on April 25th 1986 when Sikh militant leader Manbir Singh Chaheru attacked Indian security forces that were taking him to trail in the District courts of Jallandhar, Punjab, India^[13].

After KCF's first commander-in-chief Manbir Singh Chaheru's arrest and alleged disappearance, Labh Singh took over the leadership of Khalistan Commando Force^[14][15] and re-created it with a fluid hierarchy, enabling it to accommodate any potential setbacks. He was the undisputed head of this force until his death. He appointed half a dozen Lieutenant Generals, each independent of each other, with each of them having Area Commanders. As such, the death of a Lieutenant General, for example, would result in the promotion of an Area Commander^[16]. After his death this organisation was headed by Kanwarjit Singh Sultanwind. After Kanwarjit Singh Sultanwind's death, Paramjeet Singh Panjwar became the General of his organisation.

He was involved in several police encounters including daylight attack on the Director-General of the Punjab Police Julio Francis Ribeiro on October 3, 1986 inside the headquarters of Punjab Armed Police in the city of Jalandhar, Punjab, India^[17][18][19].

Along with Harjinder Singh Jinda, Sukhdev Singh Sukha and other militants of the Khalistan Commando Force, he also took part in the daylight robbery of the Punjab National Bank, Miller Gunj branch, Ludhiana in which more than Rs 5.70 crore (58 million rupees-US$4.5 million) were looted, a part of which belonged to the Reserve Bank of India, India's central bank. ^[20][21] Sikh militants often used bank robberies to finance their violent campaign against the Indian government.^[20].

Death and Afterwards

He was killed in an exchange of fire with the police near Tanda, Hoshiarpur, Punjab, India (Faultlines, May 1999, vol. 1.1, p. 29, New Delhi: Institute of Conflict Management.)^[22][23]. His entire family was forced to migrate to Canada after his death though his father-in-law stayed on in Labh Singh's house. However, he committed suicide by jumping himself before a train after he was ‘mercilessly’ beaten up by the Punjab Police^[24]. The ancestral house of Sukha Sipahi, which remained abandoned for years after his killing, is occupied by his relatives now^[25].

References