Super cop and former Punjab DGP KPS Gill passes away at 82
Former Punjab DGP, K P S Gill has passed away. He was 82. Doctors treating on him at the Ganga Ram Hospital in Delhi said he suffered from a cardiac arrest. They also said that he was suffering from end stage kidney failure and significant ischemic heart disease.
Kanwar Prasad Gill was known for bringing the militancy in Punjab to halt. A bold officer, Gill has also had his share of controversies. Gill served twice as DGP of Punjab and is credited with having brought the Punjab insurgency under control. KPS Gill retired from the IPS in 1995.
He was also the president of the Institute for Conflict Management and president of the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF). He received the Padma Shri in 1989 for his work in civil service.
Many
call
him
a
hero,
but
there
were
also
accusations
that
he
and
the
forces
under
him
were
responsible
for
human
rights
violations
in
the
name
of
stamping
out
terrorism.
Gill
joined
the
Indian
Police
Service
in
1958
and
was
assigned
to
the
Assam
and
Meghalaya
states
in
northeast
India.
Gill
served
as
Inspector
General
of
Police
in
Assam.
Gill
has
been
referred
to
as
a
supercop
for
his
work
in
Punjab
where
he
was
the
DG
between
1988
and
1990.
He
again
served
in
Punjab
between
1991
till
his
retirement
in
1995.
In May 1988, he commanded Operation Black Thunder to flush out militants hiding in the Golden Temple. Compared to Operation Blue Star, little damage was inflicted on the Golden Temple. 67 Sikhssurrendered and 43 were killed in the encounter. Gill stated that he did not want to repeat the mistakes made by Indian army during Operation Blue Star.
In 2000 the government of Sri Lanka sought his expertise as an anti-terrorism expert to help them draw a comprehensive counter-terrorism strategy against Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. He was approached by Lakshman Kadirgamar who was the foreign minister of Sri Lanka.
Gill was appointed security adviser to the state of Gujarat after 2002 Gujarat violence. He requested deployment of 1,000 extra specially-trained riot police from Punjab state to combat the violence. He was credited with controlling violence after his appointment.
Controversies favourite child, Gill was in the news for patting a female officer's posterior. An Indian Administrative Service (IAS) female officer named filed a complaint against Gill for, in 1988, "patting" her "posterior" at a party where he was alleged to be drunk. In August 1996, he was convicted under Section 354 (outraging the modesty of a woman).
Gill was sentenced to pay a fine of Rs 200,000 and to undergo three months rigorous imprisonment, followed by two months simple imprisonment. The Supreme Court upheld the conviction but set aside the sentence and directed him to undergo probation.
OneIndia News