Bhai Gurjant Singh Budhsinghwala

Bhai Gurjant Singh Budhsinghwala (about 1966 to 1992) was a Kharku commander and the third Jathedar of the Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF). He was born in Budhsinghwala village in what was then Faridkot district, now Moga. Accounts give his birth year as 1966 or 1967. Ensaaf's database records one earlier detention and torture in custody.

According to Wikipedia, he led a small group, the Malwa Kesri Commando Force, which merged into the KLF when it was founded in late 1986, and Avtar Singh Brahma made him his lieutenant-general. After Brahma's death in July 1988 he commanded the KLF. Wikipedia's account of his leadership leans on press reports and books, and the page itself carries a neutrality warning, so these details are best read as reported rather than settled.

Key moments

• October to November 1991: the KLF kidnapped a Romanian diplomat in Punjab. A Reuters report of 12 October 1991, summarised by Canada's Immigration and Refugee Board, said the kidnappers demanded the release of five prisoners.
• What the state alleged: the World Sikh News tribute of 1992 says the Indian authorities blamed him for over 1,000 deaths. Wikipedia, citing a 1993 book by Manoj Joshi, says he was wanted in 37 assassination cases, and, citing a 2010 book by Jugdep Chima, that he carried a reward of Rs 2.5 million.
• 29 July 1992: he was killed in Ludhiana. K.P.S. Gill, the police chief, said he died in an encounter. Ensaaf lists the killing as an extrajudicial execution by Punjab Police. The World Sikh News tribute says independent reporters found no encounter took place, and that police surrounded his house at about 10 pm and shot him as he tried to escape through the back yard, unarmed. Wikipedia adds that police said he died inside the house where a meeting was held, while some witnesses said he was killed in an alley about 50 metres away.
• His body was not given to his family; police cremated it. Ensaaf records a municipal cremation ground. Ages given at his death run from 26 to 28.

Remembered for: commanding the KLF through the hardest years of the Kharku struggle. Pritam Singh Sekhon succeeded him. The Panthic Committee's tribute, quoted by the World Sikh News, said it would take time for the Sikhs to appreciate his services.