KPS. Gill’s full name is Kanwar Pal Singh Gill. Kanwar Pal Singh Gill was an Indian Police Service officer. He was appointed twice as the DGP for the state of Punjab. 

Many people considered him their idol, but there were several charges against him that he and the battalions under his authority were accountable for violating human rights. 

He retired in 1995.

KPS. Gill’s Career

  • Kanwar Pal Singh Gill was an Indian Police Service officer. He joined the department in 1958 and initially served in Meghalaya and Assam. In 1980, Gill rose to Inspector General of Police in Assam. He served the northeast region for around 28 years, returning to his home town Punjab in 1984.
  • Kanwar Pal Singh Gill was recognised as a ‘supercop’ in Punjab. Because of his fantastic work in Punjab, he was appointed as the DGP (Director General Police) for the state from 1984 to 1995 till he retired.
  • KPS. Gill led ‘Operation Black Thunder’ to make extremists camping at the Golden Temple surrender in May 1988. Moreover, this operation was a success, as around 66 Sikhs surrendered, and 44 people were killed in the encounter. Apart from this, Gill used minimum force this time, keeping in mind the safety of the civilians.
  • Around 5000 people lost their lives in riots in Punjab in 1991. In 1992, the Government of India vowed to make Punjab a terror-free state and Gill was once again assigned as the Chief of Police there.
  • Gill was so good at his work that in 1993, under his service, the death ratio decreased from 5000 to 500. However, the police were so harsh on the civilians that instead of fearing the extremists’ rebellion, they started to fear Gill and the police.

Gill also proposed that police officials who encounter known extremists be awarded 50,000 INR. Various other rewards were announced for the same.

  • After his retirement in 1995, Gill founded the Institute for Conflict Management and became its president.
  • In 1997, Gill was approached to act as a security advisor but could not take that position because he had been accused of sexual harassment.
  • After this, in 2000, he was approached as an anti-terrorism expert by sir Lanka’s foreign minister.
  • In 2002, after seeing the Gujarat Violence, he was given a security advisor post as he was pretty good at tackling violent situations. Looking at his excellent work, the Chhattisgarh government also hired him as a security advisor in 2006.
  • In the year 2009, he continued his presidential ship at ICM.

Interesting facts about KPS. Gill

  • Kanwar Pal Singh Gill was a police officer with high discipline, ethics, and moral values. He could handle the most violent situations, and the only motive behind his service was to make the country free from terrorism. Keeping this objective, he made many successful strategies that forced the militants to surrender.
  • Apart from this, seeing his great work, he got numerous promotions, and many reputed departments appointed KPS. Gill as a security advisor after his retirement. 
  • In August 1996, Gill was accused of sexually harassing a lady. He was convicted in the case and had to pay a fine of Rs. 2,00,000 along with three months imprisonment.
  • In 1997, Gill wrote a book, The Knights of Falsehood which received significant recognition. He also worked as an editor for ICM and wrote for its website. 

Conclusion

Kanwar Pal Singh Gill was an Indian Police Service officer who spent many years serving the nation to make it terror-free. The article above taught us about his life, the states where he worked, his successful operations, and his ruthless strategies to make the militants surrender. During the period of his service, he did excellent work. However, Gill was also at the centre of some controversies. His conviction in a sexual harassment case was one of the biggest scandals.