Shaheed Bhai Khazan Singh Billa

Khalistan Commando Force

 

Roughly 10km away from Mukhatsar Sahib, is a village called Lathuwala. During the present Sikh Freedom Movement, 5 singhs from this village have been martyrs of Sikh panth amongst these 5 singhs is Bhai Khazan Singh. The family of Bhai Khazan Singh has been attached to Dam Dami Taksal from the time of Sant Kartar Singh Ji Bhindranwale. Whenever Sant Kartar Singh came to this area, he would always visit this family. After Sant Kartar Singh Ji, the family kept the same attachment if not stronger attachment with Sant Jarnail Singh Ji Bhindranwale.

Once Sant Jarnail Singh Ji Bhindranwale came to Mukhatsar Sahib, he sent Singhs to Bhai Sahib’s village to take Bhai Sahib to Mukhatsar Sahib. Bhai Tarlochan Singh, who was also from the Lathuwala, met Bhai Sahib and gave him the message that Sant Ji called him, Bhai Sahib wasted no time and went with the Singh to Gurudwara Tuti Gundhi Sahib where Sant Ji was staying. Upon meeting Bhai Sahib Sant Ji said, “I’m looking for warriors to join our Jatha, warriors that are willing to give their lives for the Sikh panth when the time comes. You have what it takes to be a warrior that’s why I have called you, so we can discuss this. Now you tell me what you think?” Bhai Sahib answered, “The orders of Saints like yourself have always been followed by my family and they will be followed now also. Whatever you order, I will follow with all my heart.”  The next day the Jatha held an Amrit Sanchar, Bhai Sahib took amrit from the Panj Pyare and joined the Khalsa panth. After Bhai Sahib came to Chownk Mehta with Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale.

Now not only did the Dam Dami Taksal teach santhaya of Gurbani and history, Sant Ji started to prepare Jhujaru Singhs to fight evil and accept martyrdom, Sant Ji encouraged the Jatha to punish the enemies of the Sikh panth. Sant Ji would say to his Jatha, “Forget the habit of I won’t get up until I get a cup of tea, I won’t get up until I get a glass of milk, the police will grab you by then. Just drink a glass of water and get out.”

One day Sant Ji was sitting on top of the roof top at the Chownk Mehta Gurudwara Gurdarshan Parkash, other singhs of the Jatha were also present. Sant Ji called Bhai Sahib, when Bhai Sahib came to Sant Ji he grabbed Bhai Sahib’s right arm and said, “Bilaya (Bhai Sahib had blue eyes and was nicknamed Billa) you should do some sewa.” After staying in the Jatha for 3 months, Sant Ji asked Bhai Sahib and Bhai Pavittar Singh to punish the new leader of the Narakhdharis, for months both Singhs tried their luck but never managed to get close to killing the Narakhdari Leader. One day both Singhs were armed and went to the location where the Narakhdari function was to happen in Delhi. But the Indian security forces gave the Narakhdaris protection and as they got suspicious of Bhai Sahib and Bhai Pavittar Singh they tried to grab the Singhs, Bhai Sahib opened fire killing 5 officers and wounding a few.

After both Singhs escaped unharmed and got out of Delhi and came back to Punjab. Sometime after that in a village near the Mansa area, the Singhs punished some Narakhdari who celebrated the killing of 1978 Shaheeds. Four days after this action Bhai Sahib was arrested on the outskirts of Mansa. For one month Bhai Sahib was in police remand, during interrogation the police broke Bhai Sahib’s left arm and right leg. The police were ready to rein-act a fake encounter, but Sant Ji found out about the encounter and managed to save Bhai Sahib from fake encounter. Soon as the remand finished, Sant Ji had Bhai Sahib treated by a Singh doctor in Bathinda’s Rajindra hospital.

Within 2 months Bhai Sahib made a recovery and started to walk with the support of crutches. After this Bhai Sahib was sent to Bathinda Jail and was released in 1985. Now after the attack and massacre of the Sikhs in 1984, Jhujaru Singhs had to set up the next step of the Sikh Freedom Movement, the armed struggle. Wherever necessary the Jhujaru Singhs would quickly do an action. The loan that the government put onto the Sikhs was being returned with interest in the disguise of assassinations of Indian officials and the enemies of the Sikhs. During this time Bhai Tarsem Singh Kohar, Baba Ranjit Singh Dyalgarh, Bhai Joga Singh Bishnandi, Bhai Jaspal Singh and Bhai Sahib punished a few enemies in Chakri Bazaar in Batala.

In 1985 a meeting was arranged in Ferozpur area which was attended by Bhai Tarsem Singh Kohar, Baba Ranjit Singh Dyalgarh, Bhai Waryam Singh, Bhai Joga Singh Bishnandi, Bhai Harjinder Singh Akhara and Bhai Sahib to plan the assassination of Judge Mirchian. The plan was made to have Bhai Harjinder Singh Akhara in handcuffs escorted into court by Singhs in police officer uniforms while Bhai Tarsem Kohar and Bhai Sahib kept a lookout from distance, but due to the informant, the Singhs were arrested and Bhai Tarsem Singh and Bhai Sahib escaped as they were at a distance.

On 13th April 1986, Bhai Sahib, Bhai Jaspal Singh, Bhai Joga Singh Bishnandi and Bhai Harjinder Singh Akhara were involved in an encounter near Kalanoor. Bhai Jaspal Singh and Bhai Harjinder Singh Akhara attained Shaheedi after a lengthy battle, meanwhile Bhai Sahib and Bhai Joga Singh Bishnandi were wounded and arrested. The police were going to kill these Singhs in a fake encounter but Baba Ranjit Singh Dyalgarh had dished out a warning to police officers that if they kill the singhs then they will lose their family members. After many days of torture, Bhai Sahib was sent to Nabha Jail.

In 1986, the news and papers reported the rape of Sikh girls in Bramhpura by the Indian security forces and the blood of prisoned singhs started to boil. Bhai Sahib and fellow Singhs planned to escape. Slowly the Singhs started to take bricks out of a wall of the barracks. Singhs would cover this hole by sticking a newspaper over the hole at night. When enough bricks were removed from the wall, an attempt to escape was going to be made. A fellow Singhs of Bhai Sahib said, “We are all ready to escape, but what are we going to do about the guard? He will blow his whistle soon as we leave.” Bhai Sahib answered, “Don’t worry I’ll take care of the guard.” Bhai Sahib grabbed some pieces of apple and called the guard as to share and eat. Soon as the guard came Bhai Sahib put him into a chokehold, and suffocating him like a fish with no water, the guard died. The Singhs escaped from the cell through the hole in the wall but could not jump the wall to escape the prison. Guards found out that an escape attempt had been made and shot at the Singhs, some Singhs were killed on the spot meanwhile others were arrested, the Singhs that were arrested went through the procedure of blind torture again. During this interrogation Bhai Sahib’s left hand and a thumb of the foot were broken. For two months Bhai Sahib was tortured and after he was sent to Sangrur Jail.

In Sangrur Jail, Bhai Sahib and other Singhs started to dig a tunnel. This plan would have been a success but a big riot kicked off between jail officers and prisoned Singhs because the jail officials tried to take Jathedar Gurdev Singh Kaunke’s Kirpan off. Singhs were fired upon on by the jail staff and many Singhs attained Shaheedi, then when the jail was searched the officers found the tunnel. The jail official chatted amongst themselves and said, “If this Kirpan issue didn’t happen then the Singhs would have escaped easily and we would have looked like real idiots.”

On the outside, the Jhujaru Singhs were also trying to get Bhai Sahib out. Then one lawyer who shared the same pain of Jhujaru Singhs sent fake papers of a bail to Sangrur jail. These papers worked but soon as Bhai Sahib came out the police arrested him again and took him to Fazilka. Now the Jhujaru Singhs had to wait till the next bail. When Bhai Sahib was bailed again, the Jhujaru Singhs were waiting for Bhai Sahib and as soon as Bhai Sahib came out the Jhujaru Singhs picked up Bhai Sahib in their Maruti car and escaped the police were left watching. Soon after Bhai Sahib came out he started punishing Anti Sikh elements once again.

It was around about this time the Indian security forces were getting frustrated, and started killing innocent Sikhs, staging fake encounters and then not giving the bodies to the families and at times cremating the bodies as orphans. There were some cases in which police killed Sikh youths and threw their bodies in the rivers. This had to be stopped. Many warnings were sent to police officials but no change happened. Bhai Sahib took matters in his own hands. The media never reported this issues in which the Sikhs were victimised, instead they would always hype about the Hindu victims outside Punjab on the media and newspapers of Punjab. Bhai Sahib kidnapped 17 members of racist organisation and drowned them in a river, near Ludhiana. The media that never reported about the bodies of Sikhs which were found at riverside, had now started covering all news sympathizing with the Hindu racist organisation. When Bhai Kehar Singh and Bhai Satwant Singh were hung by the government for the assassination of Indira Gandhi, Bhai Sahib did an action in retaliation. The government now started to fear Bhai Sahib, and had put a reward of 5 Lakh Rupees on his head.

Bhai Sahib had a base in a village near the Mansa district, the family that lived at this house had a daughter who wanted to marry Bhai Sahib and do sewa for the panth. But when the family spoke to Bhai Sahib regarding this, Bhai Sahib answered, “The path I am on might end anytime. Marriage is not in my life. Giving langar to the Singhs who came to your house is a big sewa within its self. With the blessing of Guru Maharaj continue to do this sewa.”

The time also came when Bhai Sahib was going to attain Shaheedi and became immortal. Bhai Sahib and 2 fellow Singhs were staying at a hideout on the outskirts of Kaddian. This information had reached the police and within short time the police and CRPF surrounded the Singhs. A fierce battle started between the army of Khalistan and the army of India which continued all night. Due to the thick walls of the house from which the Singhs were fighting from, the bullets of Indian army did not go through. These Singhs were repeating the history of Chamkaur Di Galli, when few singhs from the army of Guru Gobind Singh Ji Maharaj took on the tens of thousands soldiers of the Mughal Empire. When extreme damage was suffered by the Indian security forces, they decided to rip open the roof and through grenades in the room from which the singhs were fighting from. This is how all 3 Singhs attained Shaheedi in the battlefield. Baba Thakur Singh Ji cremated these 3 Singhs himself and with the 100s of Sikhs drowned the ashes of these Singhs at Kiratpur Sahib

Khalsa Fatehnama – January 2014