Dal Khalsa founder and patron Gajinder Singh Khalsa reportedly died of a heart attack in a Pakistan hospital on Thursday. He was 74 years old. Dal Khalsa has yet to confirm his death. He is survived by his daughter.
Khalsa is One of the five members of the once banned organisation Dal Khalsa On September 29, 1981, they hijacked Air India flight IC-423, which had taken off from Palamu airport in Delhi for Srinagar. They hijacked the Air India plane, carrying 111 passengers and six crew members, and forced the plane to land in Lahore to demand the release of several Khalistani militants, including Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale.
They were arrested and imprisoned as part of a life sentence by a local court from September 30, 1981 to October 31, 1994. The hijackers had demanded the release of several Khalistani militants, including Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale.
After the hijackings, the central government banned Dal Khalsa in 1982, but the organisation was allowed to resume its on-ground activities a decade later. The central government also added Gajinder Singh Khalsa’s name to the list of 20 “most wanted” criminals in January 2002, seeking his extradition from Pakistan. After their release in 1994, two of the hijackers returned to India, while the remaining three decided to remain in the country.
In 2020, the Akal Takht, the Sikhs’ highest secular body, decided to bestow the title of “Sikh warrior in exile” on Gajinder Singh Khalsa.
After the announcement, Dal Khalsa spokesman Kanwal Pal Singh said he had “serious objections” to India’s version of Gajinder Singh. “The government’s decision to call him a ‘terrorist’ is unjust. He is not a murderer or a criminal. He is a politician. He wanted to change the system. He has never shown prejudice or discrimination against any religion or culture. He fought for the rights of Sikhs but never took up arms to carry out his mission. The sedition charge against him does not fall under the definition of terrorism. Sedition is not a terrorist act. He has already spent 13 years and four months in Lahore Jail for his actions,” he said.
Kanwal Pal said Dal Khalsa activists hijacked the Lahore-bound plane but none of them were carrying firearms and no passengers were harmed. The spokesman said Gajinder Singh had travelled to Germany in July 1996 but was deported to Pakistan following Indian pressure. “Our party activists filed a petition in the German administrative court protesting against Gajinder Singh’s deportation to Pakistan. He has been in exile ever since,” he added.
Besides Gajinder Singh, the four others who hijacked the Indian Airlines flight were Tajinderpal Singh, Satnam Singh, Jasbir Singh Cheema and Karan Singh. Tajinderpal returned to India in December 1997, while Satnam returned in 1999. A Delhi court in August 2018 acquitted Tajinderpal and Satnam of charges of waging war against India, giving them the “benefit of doubt” as the prosecution had failed to prove the charges beyond “reasonable doubt”.
© Indian Express Ltd.
First uploaded: May 7, 2024 9:44 AM
