Tarsem Singh Purewal (10 June 1934 – 24 January 1995) was an Indian editor for '' Des Pardes'', a Punjabi-language weekly in

Gurmukhi script Gurmukhī ( pa, ਗੁਰਮੁਖੀ, , Shahmukhi: ) is an abugida developed from the Laṇḍā scripts, standardized and used by the second Sikh guru, Guru Angad (1504–1552). It is used by Punjabi Sikhs to write the language, commonly re ...

, published in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, UK and aimed at the local Indian community. Purewal was shot and killed, and the murder case remains unsolved.

Career

Tarsem Singh Purewal was a writer and editor the ''Des Pardes'' which is Britain's largest circulation

Punjabi language Punjabi (; ; , ), sometimes spelled Panjabi, is an Indo-Aryan language of the Punjab region of Pakistan and India. It has approximately 113 million native speakers. Punjabi is the most widely-spoken first language in Pakistan, with 80.5 m ...

newspaper. He supported his Sikh homeland but, was critical of the tactics employed by the Sikh government.

Death

Tarsem Singh Purewal was 61 years old when he was shot and killed at point-blank range, by unknown attackers, on the street outside his London Office on 24 January 1995. Purewal was a possible witness in the

Air India trial Air India Flight 182 was an Air India flight operating on the Montreal–London–Delhi–Bombay route. On 23 June 1985, it was operated using Boeing 747-237B registered ''VT-EFO''. It disintegrated in mid-air en route from Montreal to Lond ...

but was gunned down before the trial. He had also published articles accusing Jasbir Singh Rode, who was general secretary of the

International Sikh Youth Federation The International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF) is a proscribed organisation that aims to establish an independent homeland for the Sikhs of India in Khalistan. It is banned as a terrorist organisation under Australian, European Union, Japane ...

, of stealing public funds.

Context

Although the shooting of Purewal happened on a busy London street, few people claimed to have seen anything and the killing had many of the characteristics of a professional hit by an assassin. Purewal's death remains unsolved. Also unsolved is the murder case of Purewal's close friend and fellow journalist

Tara Singh Hayer Tara Singh Hayer (November 15, 1936 – November 18, 1998) was an Indian-Canadian newspaper publisher and editor who was murdered after his outspoken criticism of fundamentalist violence and terrorism. In particular, he was a key witness in the ...

, a journalist from Vancouver, Canada, who had been left in a wheelchair after one murder attempt, but was murdered in 1998. Several fellow journalists and members of the

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...

community believe the writing duo were killed because they knew too much information about the Air India bomb plot. Another theory on Purewal's death was that he was murdered by a family member of one of the rape victims he was revealing information about in his copies of ''Des Pardes.'' Copies are being translated into English as one avenue of inquiry concerns reports that Purewal may have upset Sikh community members by publishing the names of rape victims, their assailants, and adulterers. He both owned and edited the paper, which he started in 1965. Police sources said the rape reports were thought to have been based on court cases. But, because the newspaper was in Punjabi, legal authorities had no idea that the newspaper had published information in contempt by breach of court rules. "It's believed that Mr Purewal had named rape victims and rapists.

Impact

Raghbir Singh was arrested on 29 March 1995, facing deportation from the UK.

References

External links