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KPS Gill: The highs and lows in the supercop's life

The former Punjab DGP had died earlier on Friday

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Former Director General of Punjab Police (DGP) KPS Gill passed away on Friday. He was 82. 

Gill was admitted last week to New Delhi’s Sir Ganga Ram Hospital for end-stage kidney failure and significant ischemic heart disease. According to Dr DS Rana, who was treating him, “Gill had been recovering from Peritonitis but died of sudden cardiac arrest due to cardiac arrhythmia.”

Early career

Gill joined the Indian police force in 1958 when he was 23, and was assigned to the northeastern states of Assam and Meghalaya till the early 1980s, where he served as inspector general (IG) of Assam Police.

According to a Rediff post in 2003, "Gill's no nonsense style made him unpopular in Assam."

During his tenure as DGP of Assam police, Gill was charged with kicking a demonstrator to death, but was later acquitted by the Delhi High Court.

‘Supercop’

He was posted in Punjab in 1984 where he earned the title of 'supercop'. This was the same period when the Khalistna movement was at its peak. While he was considered a hero by millions of Indians, Human Rights Watch reported in 1991 that the security forces using “increasingly brutal methods to stem the militant movement, resulting in widespread human rights violations.”

In May 1988, Gill commanded 'Operation Black Thunder' - similar to 1984's Operation Blue Star - to flush out militants from Amritsar's Golden Temple. During the operation, 67 Sikhs surrendered and 43 were killed in the encounter. In contrast to prior operations, minimum force was used under full public scrutiny

Under Gill the scope of tracking down and arresting militants went beyond Punjab to other parts of India. “There were several reports during 1993 that Punjab police "hit teams" were pursuing alleged Sikh militants in other parts of India.

Although he has been hailed for being one of the finest cops India has produced, Gill's career was hampered by an allegation of sexual harassment. In 2005, the Supreme Court convicted Gill for allegedly slapping the posterior of an IAS officer, Rupan Deol Bajaj, during a party in 1988. Gill was held guilty of molestation. He was sentenced to pay a fine of Rs 200,000, be imprisoned rigorously for 3 months and simply for 2 months, and finally to serve 3 years of probation. After final appeals before the Supreme Court of India in July 2005 the conviction was upheld and the jail sentences were reduced to probation.

Awards

Gill received a Padma Shri in 1989 for his work in the civil service

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