Avtar Singh Atwal was a

Deputy Inspector General A Deputy Inspector General of Police (abbreviated as DIG) is a high-ranking official position in Police in Bangladesh, India, Kenya, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Nigeria and Sri Lanka. India Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) is a rank ...

in Punjab Police. He was murdered by a follower of

Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale (; born Jarnail Singh Brar; 2 June 1947– 6 June 1984) was a militant leader of the Sikh organization Damdami Taksal. He was not an advocate of Khalistan. "Bhindranwale was not an outspoken supporter of Khalistan, ...

at the steps of Golden temple while coming out after prayers on 25 April 1983 His murder set in motion a chain of events that led to the commencement of the

Operation Blue Star Operation Blue Star was the codename of a military operation which was carried out by Indian security forces between 1 and 10 June 1984 in order to remove Damdami Taksal leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his followers from the building ...

. He was a posthumous recipient of President's Police Medal for Gallantry.

Personal life

He was survived by his wife and son. His wife Amrita Atwal later joined the Punjab Civil Services and retired as an IAS officer. His son, Harbir Atwal, also joined the Punjab Police as an Inspector, currently serving as a SP.

Death

On 23 April 1983, while serving as the DIG of Police Jalandhar range, Atwal visited the Golden Temple to pray. While leaving the Darbar Sahib, he was shot and killed by a lone gunman. Two others were critically injured. The killing took place in broad daylight metres away from his bodyguards and official car. Immediately after the shootout, Atwal's bodyguard and car driver escaped in his car. A group of Punjab Armed Police jawans were stationed nearby but instead of nabbing the assassin, they also fled along with the crowd from the shooting spot. The militants from inside the temple came out to celebrate around Atwal's body and fired celebratory shots in the air. His corpse remained on the temple steps for several hours, and the Police force did not picked it up fearing further firings from the militants. Punjab CM

Darbara Singh Darbara Singh (10 February 1916 — 10 March 1990) was the Chief Minister of Punjab from 1980 to 1983. Freedom struggle and provincial politics Sardar Darbara Singh (1916–1990), born into the prosperous Jatt zamindar family of Sardar D ...

then telephoned Bhindranwale asking to allow the dead body to be picked up to which he agreed.

Aftermath

The "Top Cop" Atwal's killing shocked the entire state of Punjab. It established a fear of Bhindranwale's gunmen among the locals. The Sikhs sympathetic to the Akali movement were also appalled by the incident as they viewed it as offensive towards Golden Temple. Akali leaders had an emergency meeting to discuss the aftermath of the murder. Akali Dal such as like

Harchand Singh Longowal Sant Harchand Singh Longowal (2 January 1932 – 20 August 1985) was the President of the Akali Dal during the Punjab insurgency of the 1980s. He had signed the Punjab accord, also known as the Rajiv-Longowal Accord along with Rajiv Gandhi on 2 ...

and

Gurcharan Singh Tohra Panth Rattan Shiri Gurcharan Singh Tohra (24 September 1924 – 1 April 2004) was a president of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), a Sikh body in charge of controlling Gurdwara (Sikh places of worship). He died of a heart attack ...

immediately denounced the murder in clear terms on record. Meanwhile, Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale described the killing as ''"the handiwork of the Government to malign Sikhs"''. Chief Minister of Punjab

advised Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi to send Police force inside the Golden temple. The law and order situation in Punjab continued to deteriorate further and leading to the PM taking the decision of sending in army to assist the local law enforcement and to flush out the militants out of the temple in Operation Bluestar.

Published accounts

Documentary

''Operation Blue Star and the assassination of Indira Gandhi'' (2013) is a

TV documentary Television documentaries are televised media productions that screen documentaries. Television documentaries exist either as a television documentary series or as a television documentary film. *Television documentary series, sometimes called d ...

which premièred on ABP News Channel series, Pradhanmantri. This documentary directed by Puneet Sharma and narrated by

Shekhar Kapur Shekhar Kulbhushan Kapur (born 6 December 1945) is an Indian filmmaker and actor. Born into the Anand-Sahni family, Kapur is the recipient of several accolades, including a BAFTA Award, a National Film Award, a National Board of Review Award a ...

showed the circumstances of Atwal's murder.

References

External links

Low Intensity Conflicts in India: An Analysis
{{DEFAULTSORT:Atwal, Avtar Singh 1943 births 1983 deaths Indian Sikhs Assassinated Indian people People from Punjab, India Punjabi people Male murder victims Victims of the insurgency in Punjab People murdered in Punjab, India Deaths by firearm in India Indian Police Service officers Assassinated police officers Victims of Sikh terrorism 1983 murders in India