Dates of operation 1987–1993 | ||
Leader(s) Manbir Singh Chaheru (1987)Labh Singh † (1987–1988)Kanwaljit Singh Sultanwind (1988–1989)Paramjit Singh Panjwar Motives The creation of a Sikh independent state of Khalistan in Punjab, as well as some districts of neighbouring states of India where all Sikhs can live without fear or any kind of discrimination and they will get their proper rights. Ideology Protection of Sikh rights from Pakistan Status Under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act designated as terrorist organisation by the Government of India | ||
The Khalistan Commando Force or KCF is an armed Sikh organisation operating in the Indian state of Punjab. According to the US State Department, and the Assistant Inspector General of the Punjab Police Intelligence Division, the KCF was responsible for many assassinations in India, including the 1995 assassination of Chief Minister Beant Singh.
Contents
Perception
The KCF is a controversial organisation. Its conception was directly the result of the activities in 1984 and the military action undertaken by the Indian armed forces culminating in the shelling of the Golden Temple. As per the Indian government, the KCF is classified as a terrorist organisation, However they are not globally declared as a terrorist organization. Most notably, The KCF is not designated as a terrorist organisation by United States Department of State.
Khalistan Commando forces members claim to be freedom fighters and have support among a section of Sikh diaspora.
Formation and leadership
The Khalistan Commando Force was founded by Manbir Singh Chaheru in 1986.
On 8 August 1986, Punjab Police arrested Manbir Singh Chaheru ("Hari Singh"), and he was eventually killed or disappeared while in police custody. After Chaheru was arrested, former police officer Sukhdev Singh, also known as Sukha Sipahi, took command of the KCF. Sukhdev Singh changed his name to Labh Singh and assumed the title of "General".
After his death the KCF was headed by Kanwarjit Singh Sultanwind On 18 October 1989, Kanwarjit Singh Sultanwind, and another two KCF members were arrested by police near Jalandhar. While one member managed to escape, Kanwarjit Singh Sultanwind, then 23 years old, swallowed a cyanide capsule to avoid giving information about the group.
Decline
Police killed Labh Singh on 12 July 1988. His loss damaged the organisation. After his death, the Khalistan Commando Force split into factions including those led by Wassan Singh Zaffarwal, Paramjit Singh Panjwar and Gurjant Singh Rajasthani.
Another result of Labh Singh's death was the failure of the Khalistan Commando Force - Babbar Khalsa alliance, as the relationship established by Labh Singh and Sukhdev Singh Babbar was lost.
Police and other Indian security forces caught or killed Lieutenant Generals and Area Commanders, and eventually crushed many of the factions.
1980s
The organisation battled Indian military forces, especially in revenge for Operation Blue Star, the government's 1984 military operation in the Harimandir Sahib (Golden Temple) in Amritsar.
It assassinated General Arun Vaidya, who led the Indian forces in Operation Blue Star.
It also attacked sellers of alcohol, cigarettes, and other items prohibited by conservative Sikhism.
It was also suspected of involvement in the 1987 Punjab killings.
1990s
After the major defeats of the KCF in the late 1980s, the group continued its struggle into the 1990s.
A June 1991 attack on a passenger train in northwestern Punjab killed about fifty, mostly Hindu, passengers. A September 1993 bombing in New Delhi targeting Indian Youth Congress president Maninderjeet Singh Bitta that killed eight people.
On 9 October 1992, Harjinder Singh Jinda and Sukhdev Singh Sukha, alleged assassins of General Arun Vaidya, were hanged until death in Pune jail.
Gurdev Singh Debu was reportedly boiled alive by Indian security forces.
Police also killed thousands of suspects in staged shootouts and burned thousands of dead bodies to cover up the murders.
The KCF was listed in 1995 one of the 4 "major militant groups" in the Khalistan movement.
2000s
In June 2006 a member of the Panjwar faction of the KCF, Kulbir Singh Barapind was extradited from the US to India. He was deported to India for belonging to a terrorist organisation and for entering the United States with a false passport. He was wanted in India for thirty-two cases, but was arrested for three murders in the early 1990s. After his arrest, he stated that he would renew the Khalistan movement through peaceful means.
The investigation began in 2003, when Khalid Awan, jailed at the time for credit card fraud, bragged of his relationship with Paramjeet Singh Panjwar, leader of the KCF. Awan was given a 14-year prison sentence in 2007 on terrorism charges.
In 2008, Punjab Police announced they had foiled a KCF effort to kill Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, head of Dera Sacha Sauda.
Status
Paramjeet Singh Panjwar remained the head of the remaining faction of the KCF as of 2008, and was listed at that time as one of the top 10 most wanted criminals in India.
The University of Maryland beta version of the "Global Terrorism Database" has recorded 2 attacks on military targets, 9 attacks on police or other government targets, and 9 attacks against civilian, religious, transportation or educational entities, in both India and Pakistan, as of June 2009.
The KCF remains banned in India.
A 2011 NPR report claimed a person associated with this group was imprisoned in a highly restrictive Communication Management Unit in the US.