MAINTAINING PEACE IN PUNJAB WILL BE A FITTING TRIBUTE TO KPS GILL, SAYS CAPT
Amarinder remembers supercop, says KPS knew how to lead from the front
NEWDELHI:Punjab CM Amarinder Singh on Saturday exhorted the people of the state to work for its peace and progress as a true tribute to former DGP KPS Gill.
Gill, who is credited with crushing terrorism in Punjab, had succumbed to a kidney ailment on May 26 at the age of 82.
People from all walks of life paid homage to Gill at his bhog ceremony here.
Amarinder described him as a brave son of Punjab who fought terrorism by providing the much-needed leadership to state police.
He said history will record his contribution and “you will see that KPS Gill will be there as a shining light in that dark period of my state”.
Amarinder recalled his first meeting with Gill in Assam where he was then SP Tezpur, and was determined to give a befitting reply to the Chinese army’s incursion into the sector. He said the man knew how to lead from the front, whatever the threat.
Gill was a leader who built the morale and awakened the state police as there was a sense of demoralisation in those days of terrorism, the CM said.
“Leadership comes seldom. But leaders shine through the mist of time. There was a time when leadership was much required in Punjab Police and Gill provided that morale booster to the police and rooted out terrorism,” he said.
“A true tribute to him would be to maintain peace in Punjab for which he gave away his youth. It is sad as I have lost a friend,” he added. The CM said those who had not lived through the days of militancy, when more than 35,000 people were killed, could not really understand his contribution to the state.
Punjab DGP Suresh Arora said the way Gill led the police during the days of terrorism made him a “messiah” in their eyes.
Former Punjab minister and BJP leader Laxmi Kanta Chawla described Gill as “Punjab ka Jarnail (General), a protector of Punjab and who slayed terrorism”.
Former Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Punjab ministers, MPs, MLAs, former Punjab Police chief Paramdeep Singh Gill, and a number of serving and retired police and civil officers, attended the bhog ceremony at the Constitution Club here.