From student politics to Nihang chief: Poolha was a law unto himself

Chandigarh, August 29: A former police informer, known as ‘police cat’ in Punjab, Nihang chief Ajit Singh Poolha, who was set ablaze in Amritsar Central Jail on Thursday and succumbed to his injuries on Friday, had a chequered career. There were a dozen criminal cases registered against him, yet he enjoyed the protection of the state police. In fact, Poolha had escaped death for two decades when terrorists were chasing him for being a ‘police cat’.

The background of the two convicts, who had poured kerosene on him in the jail premises, is still being verified. However, jail authorities claim the immediate provocation was a sensational article in a Punjabi magazine that had details of the “excesses” committed by Poolha and his Nihangs.

Fifty-two-year-old Poolha was a rule unto himself. He specialised in “taking over” the control of gurdwaras and spreading terror, allegedly with the blessings of a section of senior police officials even during the peak of terrorism in the 1980s.

His actual name was Jaswinder Singh. Poolha was a name given to him after he became the jathedar of Taruna Dal. A product of student politics, the records show that he was involved in a shooting incident in 1981. He was gambling with some youngsters, had a fight, and allegedly fired at one Gurcharan Singh and others. They escaped unhurt, but one passerby was injured. A case was registered against him and subsequently, he was declared a proclaimed offender.

Later, he changed his appearance and name to join a Nihang outfit, Taruna Dal, headed by Baba Kahan Singh, to escape from the police. After the killing of Baba Kahan Singh by militants in the mid 1980s, he was made the jathedar of the group. After taking over as the chief, his confrontation with militants started, as they wanted to take over more than a dozen deras of the Taruna Dal across the state, especially in the border districts. Poolha became a police informer and was close to many police officers, who are now in senior positions. They include two retired DGPs, one serving ADGP, IGP and a number of SPs.

A senior officer said, “Poolha was close to almost every police officer who worked in the state during terrorism years.” In fact, the Punjab police had given him a bullet-proof car, a pilot and an escort vehicle. It was reported that he used these vehicles for smuggling and that he and his group used to grow poppy. His name also figured in a property dispute. In 1981-82, he forcefully took possession of Bhai Taru Singh Gurdwara in Poolha.

... contd.

Ads By Google

Message*	Maximum characters allowed

Name*		Email ID*
Subject*		Country*

TERMS OF USE:
The views, opinions and comments posted are your, and are not endorsed by this website. You shall be solely responsible for the comment posted here. The website reserves the right to delete, reject, or otherwise remove any views, opinions and comments posted or part thereof. You shall ensure that the comment is not inflammatory, abusive, derogatory, defamatory &/or obscene, or contain pornographic matter and/or does not constitute hate mail, or violate privacy of any person (s) or breach confidentiality or otherwise is illegal, immoral or contrary to public policy. Nor should it contain anything infringing copyright &/or intellectual property rights of any person(s).

I agree to the terms of use.