Assassination of SSP Brar and SP Gill

Known as the Tracksuit action

One of the most renowned missions carried out during the Khalistan movement was the assassination of Senior Superintendent of Patiala Police, Arvinder Brar. SSP Brar was born into a Sikhi household but had an intense hatred for Sikhs and would never to a Gurdwara. Drunk with the power of is uniform, Brar professed that he could kill anyone and get away with it. He would torture Sikh youth and say “Where is the mighty Khalsa of your Guru, tell your Guru to save you now!” In addition to Brar, Superintendent of Patiala police, Kanwar Gill, was also corrupt and killed countless men and raped many women. SSP Brar and SP Gill were known for killing innocent Sikhs in fake encounters.

In Patiala, there is a famous stadium called the National Institute of Sport where several great sporting events have taken place. Located in an up market area, many athletes and officials exercised around this location. SSP Brar and his men would also jog around this complex as it was close to their headquarters. When the Jhujaru Singhs found out about their daily routine they realized this would be a very difficult mission to carry out. Firstly, it was a very busy area, making it difficult to get away and secondly the Singhs would stand out as soon as they stepped into the up market place.

Bhai Gurjant Singh Budhsinghwala, Jathedar of Khalistan Liberation Force was in charge of planning the very difficult mission. The key to the mission’s success would be to have the Singhs fit in with the other morning joggers. It was decided that the Singhs involved in the action would have to wear designer Tracksuits, in order to look like professional sportsmen. Brar and Gill were kept under observation whilst they went for their daily jog by the three Jhujaru Singhs. They noticed that Brar and Gill had a gun man with them parked up in their Gypsy (police jeep).

On 14thDecember 1987, SSP Arvinder Brar was exercising along with SP Kanwal Ranbir Gill nearby the National Institute of Sport. It was a cold misty morning however it was very busy as usual with many people going on their morning jog. Just as the two police officers had got half way round their daily route, three joggers ran past them. The three joggers looked like professional athletes dressed in their designer tracksuits. The three joggers were Singh Soorme from the Khalistan Liberation Force and started running just in front of SSP Brar and SP Gill. Suddenly they swung around and the whole area echoed with sounds of the burst from the AK47 being blasted into the enemies of the Khalsa Panth.

The whole area went hysterical as the two officers fell to the ground. The Singhs for this particular mission known as Tracksuit-wale turned their attention to the Gypsy Jeep parked on the road. To their surprise the gun man was hiding under the jeep so they decided not to shoot at him as he was a coward and was not worth wasting their bullets on.

Now began the difficult part, getting away without any casualty. Fortunately, the people in the area were all running in many different directions and there was a lot of confusion as to what had taken place. It was not clear to the public as to what had just happened, everyone present across the stadium heard the gun shots, but everyone looked the same, dressed in their tracksuits. Due to the planning of Bhai Gurjant Singh Ji Budhsinghwala getaway cars and bikes were all parked with their engines already running in four directions. The tracksuit-wale Jhujaru Singhs decided to run towards Moti Bhag Gurdwara and jumped over a 10ft wall at the back of the Gurdwara Sahib with their AK47 assault rifles in hand. They made their escape unharmed on a motorcycle that was parked and already running on the other side of wall.

The Khalistan Liberation Force became legendary across the whole of India for the elimination of the enemies of the Khalsa Panth. Bhai Gurjant Singh Budhsinghwala accepted full responsibility for the action and announced it in the newspapers. This daring action became very famous across India, that to this day people outside of Punjab recall the “Tracksuit action”. Everyone was overjoyed and the news spread across Punjab like wildfire.

Punjab Police Press Release:

In the early morning hours on 14.12.1987, SSPBrar along with SP K.R.S. Gill were busy in doing exercises for their physical fitness. The three terrorists putting on track suits pretending to be sportsmen opened fire upon them, as a result of which both the officers died on the spot. He was awarded Padam Shri posthumously.

SSP Arvinder Brar

SP Kanwal Gill