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.

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