Shaheed Bhai Harpal Singh Laddu

Babbar Khalsa

 

Amar Shaheed Bhai Harpal Singh Laddu was born in 1963, to father Sardar Sanpuran Singh and from the womb of Mata Dalip Kaur in village Alal, near Sherpur, district Sangrur. Bhai Sahib was the eldest brother to Bibi Manjit Kaur and Bhai Harbhajan Singh. Bhai Sahib did not study, instead he took on the family responsibilities alongside his father and started doing farming. Bhai Sahib married Bibi Gurjit Kaur, daughter of Sardar Bhag Singh from village Vadda Ghanaur, district Sangrur. Bhai Sahib had 2 children, daughter Amandeep Kaur and son Pavittar Singh.

 

Bhai Sahib had given his voluntary arrest multiple times during the Dharam Yudh Morcha and had met Sant Jarnail Singh Ji Khalsa Bhindranwale numerous times. Bhai Sahib would accommodate Jhujaru Singhs at his farms and provide them with food and water. One of Bhai Sahib’s labourers would tell Bibi Gurjit Kaur that many Singhs come to see her husband at the farms. It was during this time Bhai Sahib l joined the Sikh struggle and started doing Jhujaru actions in secret.

 

Bhai Sahib attained martyrdom beside Bhai Sukhwinder Singh Bhola of Babbar Khalsa on 21st July 1992. It was 2 years before his martyrdom that Bhai Sahib completely left the luxuries of home and family behind to jump into battlefield against the Indian security forces. Bhai Sahib also spent some time in Uttar Pardesh. Some of Bhai Sahib’s Jhujaru brothers were the likes of Bhai Sukhwinder Singh Bhola Fauji, Bhai Narinder Singh Dangarh, Bhai Gurmeet Singh Rajo Majra and Bhai Sandeep Singh Rajo Majra.

 

Bhai Sahib along with Bhai Sukhwinder Singh Bhola and other Jhujaru Singhs attained martyrdom on 21st July 1992, when they were surrounded by Indian security forces in Pilibhit, Uttar Pardesh as they were on their way to Punjab. The owner of the house where these Jhujaru Singhs were staying in Pilibhit, supported a plan to have them travel on a secure bus back to Punjab and even advised them there was no need to go with weapons. So, the Singhs left unarmed, but little did they know that this man had just instigated the biggest betrayal and had informed the Punjab police of the number plate to the bus. Enroute, the Punjab police surrounded the bus and the Jhujaru Singhs realised they were in trouble, with no way out. The Jhujaru Singhs were left no choice but to take cyanide capsules and attain martyrdom. This would leave the Punjab police with mere bodies of these Singhs and unable to extract any information from them.

 

An officer of Punjab police that got to the bodies of Jhujaru Singh first decided to claim the reward on the heads of these Jhujaru Singhs. He along with his team riddled the bodies of Jhujaru Singhs with bullets and portrayed the scene as a fierce battle had taken place. Then a police team from Sherpur went to Shaheed Bhai Harpal Singh Laddu’s house and told the family that they killed some Jhujaru Singhs in Pilibhit and wanted a family member to go with them to identify the martyred Singhs. A family member was shown photos of martyred Jhujaru Singhs and recongnised Shaheed Bhai Harpal Singh Laddu.

 

Bhai Sahib had many encounters, but the family did not have much information about his Jhujaru life. Bhai Sahib’s younger brother, Bhai Harbhajan Singh and his father in-law, Sardar Bhag Singh were jailed for lengthy periods do their affiliation with Bhai Sahib. Bibi Gurjit Kaur helped us write this biography of Bhai Sahib. Shaheed Bhai Harpal Singh Laddu was 29 years old when he attained martyrdom. His daughter was 7 years old and his son was 5 years old at the time of Bhai Sahib’s martyrdom.

Information given by the family of Shaheed Bhai Harpal Singh Laddu