Talwinder Singh Parmar
Talwinder was accused of founding Babbar Khalsa International along with Sukhdev Singh Babbar in 1978, and leading Babbar Khalsa in Canada.
In 1981, he was accused by India of killing 2 Punjab Police officers and was arrested in 1983 in West Germany. He was released in 1984 after which he immediately returned to Canada. After the bombing of Air India Flight 182 in 1985, Parmar returned to India and was allegedly killed in a gun fight with Punjab Police on 15 October 1992. He was later named as the mastermind of the 1985 Air India bombing.
Early life
Talwinder Singh Parmar was born in a Sikh family of village Panchhat, Kapurthala, Punjab, India on 26 February 1944. He immigrated to Canada in May 1970, and became a naturalized citizen of Canada when he was in his early twenties.
Militancy
As per The Tribune, Talwinder Singh Parmar and Sukhdev took the pledge to take revenge on the Nirankari. Following the 1978 Sikh–Nirankari clash, which saw 13 Sikh killed and 150 injured, Nirankari were also expelled by the Akal Takht out of the Sikh fold. Sukhdev founded the organization Babbar Khalsa along with Talwinder Singh Parmar with the objective to secede from India and form the state of Khalistan for Sikhs. Babbar Khalsa's first goals were to kill the Nirankari head and the "Nirankari Seven Stars" who were the Sant Nirankari version of the Panj Pyare.
Talwinder Singh Parmar became Babbar Khalsa's leader in Canada in 1979. After Parmar's return to Canada in 1984 following his incarceration in West Germany for a year, he embarked on a nationwide tour to establish himself as the pro-leading Khalistani Sikh. On July 15, 1984, Talwinder Singh Parmar strongly urged Sikhs to "unite, fight and kill" in order to punish the Indian government for Operation Blue Star.
Early militancy
Babbar Khalsa members killed a Thanedar in Ghul Khurd and Master Darshan in Kot Shameer for alleged crimes against Sikhs.
Attacks on Nirankaris
Babbar Khalsa's first goals were to kill the Nirankari head and the Nirankari seven stars who were the Sant Nirankari version of the Panj Pyare over the 1978 Sikh-Nirankari Clash.
Babbar Khalsa claimed responsibility for killing the Nirankari head Gurbachan Singh and one of the Nirankari stars Partap Singh on April 24, 1980.
One of Babbar Khalsa's earliest activities was the killing of Nirankari Shaadi Lal. He was the President of Anandpur Sahib Municipality and one of the Nirankari Seven Stars.
On 16 October 1981, Babbar Khalsa members attacked Niranjan Singh who was a Nirankari and Indian Administrative Service officer. He was the Deputy Commissioner of Gurdaspur. He was a key accused in the 1978 Sikh-Nirankari clash. Niranjan managed to survive the attack in an injured state, but his brother was killed.
On October 23, 1981, Babbar's killed the Sarpanch of Pannchata Mohinder Pal.
On November 16, 1981, 2 Babbar Khalsa members on motorcycles under Sukhdev Singh Babbar killed Parhal Chand the Nirankari head of Kapurathala district. He was one of the seven Nirankari stars. In the killing, Chand's father was killed and his brother was injured.
On May 22, 1982, Babbar Khalsa members opened fire directed at Nirankari's in Patti killing 4 and injuring many more.
On October 27, 1982, Surinder Singh Sodhi, Babbar Khalsa mebbers and Labh Singh killed Resham Singh. Resham was the Sant Nirankari head of Hoshiarpur District and 1 of the 7 stars. Babbars, Sodhi and Labh Singh had disguised themselves as police. They had approached Resham posing as officers who just wanted to chat. As Resham was talking about Bhindranwale, supposedly negatively, Babbars, Labh Singh and Sodhi pulled out stenguns and opened fire killing him instantly. It is said that Babbars, Sodhi and Labh Singh fled on a Royal Enfield Bullet and fired victory shots.
On September 10, 1983, Babbar killed Kulwant Singh the Nirankari head of Faridkot.
In 1984 Babbar Khalsa co-chief Sukhdev Singh Babbar claimed responsibility for the killing of 76 Nirankaris.
Assassination of Lala Jagat Narain
On September 9, 1981, Lala Jagat Narain was assassinated. Jagat was a former Punjab Legislative Assembly member and a former Member of Parliament. He was also the founder of Hind Samachar. Jagat was an outspoken critic of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and of the Khalistan movement and had been accused of portraying Sikh gurus as "lovers of wine and women". Talwinder Singh Parmar claimed responsibility.
Bhindranwale's arrest
Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale offered himself to the police for arrest on 20 September 1981, and was taken to a circuit house instead of prison. Shortly after Bhindranwale courted arrest, agitated Sikhs clashed with the police and paramilitary forces, resulting in the death of 18 protestors.
On the day of his arrest, three armed men, from Babbar Khalsa, on a motorcycle opened fire using machine guns in a market in Jalandhar in retaliation, killing four people and injured twelve. The next day, in another incident at Tarn Taran one Hindu man was killed and thirteen people were injured. On 14 October 1981 Bhindranwale was released by the Punjab Police.
Murder charges and arrest
On 19 November 1981, the Punjab Police were looking for Tarsem Singh Kalasinghian and his accomplices, when on the morning of 19 November 1981 an encounter took place at Daheru village in Ludhiana district in which Police Inspector Pritam Singh Bajwa and Constable Surat Singh of Jalandhar were gunned down. All of the militants hiding in a house of Amarjit Singh Nihang managed to escape. Among those named in the First Information Report (FIR) were Wadhawa Singh (present chief of Babbar Khalsa, now based in Pakistan), Talwinder Singh Parmar, Amarjit Singh Nihang, Amarjit Singh (Head Constable), Sewa Singh (Head Constable) and Gurnam Singh (Head Constable). This is believed to be the first act which gained Babbar Khalsa and its chief, Talwinder Singh Parmar, notoriety. In 1982, India issued a warrant for Talwinder Singh Parmar's arrest for six charges of murder, stemming from the killing of police officers.
In 1983, he was arrested in Germany on charges of murdering two police officers in Punjab in 1981. Talwinder Singh Parmar went on a hunger strike in jail for his right to wear a turban and have vegetarian meals. Talwinder Singh Parmar was acquitted by German authorities and then returned to Canada. India requested for his extradition from Canada, but the request was turned down, and Canada declined to extradite Singh to India.
Various assassinations
In February 1986 Babbar Khalsa members killed DSP (Deputy Superintendent of Police) Harpal Singh. He was killed along with his father.
On 19 January 1987, Babbar Khalsa members under Talwinder Singh Parmar killed Joginder Pal Pandey in Ludhiana. He was the general secretary of the Indian National Congress Party in Punjab and a member of the Punjab Legislative Assembly. In the attack Pandey's security guard Sohan Lal was killed. Three Babbars in a vehicle had opened fire when Pandey's car was stopped at a gas station. This incident led to a curfew in Ludhiana.
Babbar Khalsa launched an attack in September 1987 with Gurjant Singh Budhsinghwala. The target was S.H.O. (Station house officer) Sub-Inspector Mith Singh. Mith Singh had been hand-picked by then chief of Punjab Police Julio F. Riberio. He was picked to deal with Budhsinghwala. Mith Singh had been accused of police brutality and targeting Budhsinghwala's family and father. Budhsinghwala began plotting to kill Mith Singh in revenge for his actions with Husan Singh and Babbar Khalsa members. The attack was carried out by Budshinghwala and fellow Sikh militants on 15 September 1987 at around 9am. Mith Singh was shot while he was walking along with his guard, a police constable. Both of their guns were taken by Budhsinghwala. In the crossfire a schoolboy was also killed and five others were injured. The killing is said to have greatly alarmed Riberio.
Commandant Gobind Ram was killed on January 10, 1990. Gobind Ram was killed in a bomb blast at the headquarters of the 75th battalion of the Punjab Armed Police in Jalandhar. He was commandant of the 75th battalion. The planning of the killing was done by Toofan Singh and Babbar Khalsa members. The bomb was planted in the cooler of his office. In the blast, three others, including Sub Inspector Prem Kumar, were killed and at least four were critically wounded. The blast also caused major damage to the building. All the windows of the second floor were broken and a fire broke out on the first floor. Multiple vehicles parked were also damaged. Gobind Ram had been on the hit list of Sikh militants over his alleged role in 38 fake encounters and torturing Sikhs.
On February 16, 1990, KCF, BTFK (Sangha), BKI, and SSF collectively claimed responsibility for an explosion in Phillaur that killed Inspector Harcharan Singh Soori and Assistant Sub-Inspector Ram Moorti on the 11th. The bomb also wounded 2 Sergeants. The explosion happened in an armoured and guarded police training facility. Both were put in a special armoured room for extra safety, but were killed at 9 pm from an explosion within their room. Both officers had been accused of torturing Sikhs. Inspector Soori had survived a previous assassination attempt in 1988.
On November 24, 1990, at 9 am Parmar along with other militant groups part of the Sohan Singh Committee killed Superintendent of Police (Operations) Harjit Singh in a bomb blast at Tarn Taran. Sikh militants had been studying Harjit's travel routes for some time. A remote-controlled bomb had been placed on a road Harjit usually drove by to go to the doctor. When Harjit's lead security vehicles drove by and it was just his vehicle over the bomb it was detonated. In the explosion three of his security guards were killed and his vehicle was destroyed. A permanent curfew was put on the town after. A saying about the incident is, “He had a security vehicle in front of him and behind him, so he would be safe from all sides. But he didn’t count on his death coming from below”. Twenty-two days prior to his death Harjit had killed the chief of BTFK (S) Sukhwinder Singh Sangha along with four other militants. KLF, KCF, Babbar Khalsa, SSF, and BTFK (S) members held a meeting afterward pledging to kill Harjit within 31 days of Sangha's death. Major Singh of KCF was given the lead role in the killing.
Attacks on police
On March 2, 1990, KCF, KLF, BKI, and SSF collectively claimed responsibility for killing 1 Sergeant and 1 Constable of Punjab Police in Nagoke for alleged “misdeeds”.
On March 2, 1990, KCF, KLF, BKI, and SSF collectively claimed responsibility for a bomb attack in Philaur that killed 1 police constable and 2 others. They stated that they were killed because they had put fake cases on locals.
Babbar Khalsa activities from Canada
During his residence in Canada, Parmar continued to advocate for the Khalistan movement.
Involvement in the bombing of Air India 182
On 23 June 1985, Air India Flight 182 was bombed. It was a part of an attempted double-bombing which included Air India Flight 301. In March 2005 judgment, Justice Josephson of the British Columbia Supreme Court concluded that one of the leaders of the conspiracy was Talwinder Singh Parmar, belonging to Babbar Khalsa movement. The plane was destined to make its route from Montreal, Canada to New Delhi, India, over the Atlantic Ocean. All 329 passengers were killed, including 268 Canadian, 27 British and 24 Indian citizens.
From the time of Parmar's return to Canada following his incarceration in West Germany, he was considered a person of interest to the Canadian authorities. Surveillance on Parmar began as early as 1982, with agents being sent to follow his movements. A warrant under the CSIS Act to intercept communications on Mr. Parmar was sought in the Federal Court and granted commencing March 14, 1985.
The multiple suspects in the bombing were members of a Khalistani group called the Babbar Khalsa (banned in Europe and the United States as a proscribed terrorist group) and other related groups who were at the time agitating for a separate Sikh state (called Khalistan) in Punjab, India.
- Talwinder Singh Parmar (26 February 1944 – 15 October 1992) – a Canadian citizen born in Punjab and living in British Columbia, was a high-ranking official in the Babbar Khalsa. His phone was tapped by CSIS for three months before the bombing. He was originally believed to have been killed during a gunfight between officers of the Punjab Police and six Sikh militants. According to the First information report by the Punjab Police, Parmar was killed by AK-47 fire from a rooftop at 5:30a.m on October 15, 1992. However, this account is disputed by post-mortem report suggesting he was killed between 12a.m and 2a.m. However, the investigative newsmagazine Tehelka alleged that Parmar was executed without trial after 4 days of interrogation and torture by the Punjab Police on October 15, 1992. Tehelka also stated that Parmar believed he was framed for the attack, alleging Lakhbir Singh Rode planned the Air India 182 bombing. Contrary to what Tehelkha suggested in the same article, the RCMP did not believe Rode had any role in the bombing and established Parmar as one of the masterminds behind the bombing.
- Inderjit Singh Reyat (born 11 March 1952) – was born in India, but moved to the United Kingdom with his family in 1965 and later to Canada in 1974, and holds dual British and Canadian citizenship. He worked as an auto mechanic and electrician in Duncan, British Columbia on Vancouver Island. Investigation of the bombing in Tokyo led to discovery that he had bought a Sanyo radio, clocks and other parts found after the blast. He was convicted of manslaughter for constructing the bomb. As part of a deal, he was to testify against others, but as he declined to implicate others, he would be the only suspect convicted in the case. Reyat was released to halfway house in 2016 and now fully released with some restrictions since early 2017 to his family's home in BC.
- Ajaib Singh Bagri (born 4 October 1949) – a mill worker living in Kamloops. During the founding convention of the World Sikh Organization in New York in 1984, Bagri gave a speech in which he proclaimed that, "until we kill 50,000 Hindus, we will not rest."
- Ripudaman Singh Malik (4 February 1947 – 14 July 2022) A Vancouver businessman who was involved with opening Khalsa Credit Union and Khalsa Schools. He was charged in 2000 but acquitted in 2005. In July 2022, Malik was murdered in Surrey, British Columbia. The RCMP arrested two individuals in his murder.
- Surjan Singh Gill (born 19 October 1942) – was living in Vancouver as the self-proclaimed consul-general of Khalistan. Some RCMP testimony claimed he was a mole who left the plot just days before its execution because he was told to pull out, but the Canadian government denied that report. He later fled Canada and was believed in August 2003 to be hiding in London, England.
- Hardial Singh Johal (born 20 November 1946 - 15 November 2002) – a follower of Parmar who was active in the Gurdwaras where Parmar preached. On 15 November 2002, Johal died of natural causes at age 55. His phone number was left when ordering the airline tickets, he was seen at the airport the day the luggage was loaded, and he had allegedly stored the suitcases containing the bombs in the basement of a Vancouver school, but was never charged in the case.
- Daljit Sandhu – named by a Crown witness as the man who picked up the tickets. During the trial, the Crown played a video from January 1989 in which Sandhu congratulated the families of Indira Gandhi's assassins and stated that "she deserved that and she invited that and that's why she got it." Sandhu was cleared by Judge Ian Josephson in a 16 March judgment.
- Lakhbir Singh Rode – the leader of the Sikh separatist organisation International Sikh Youth Federation. In September 2007, the commission investigated reports, initially disclosed in the Indian investigative news magazine Tehelka, that Parmar had allegedly confessed and named the hitherto-unnamed Lakhbir Singh Rode as the mastermind behind the explosions. This claim appears to be inconsistent with other evidence known to the RCMP.
On 17 August 1985, Reyat became a third suspect once the receipt for the tuner was found with his name. On 6 November 1985, the RCMP raided the homes of Parmar, Reyat, Gill and Johal. In a 4+1⁄2-hour interview, Reyat denied all knowledge of the test blast or even Parmar. After he was told the CSIS had seen both of them, he changed his story that Parmar really wanted to build a device powerful enough so that he could take the device back to India to destroy a bridge. He explained that the gunpowder in the test was a failure, as the device fizzled. The search of Reyat's house produced a carton with an unusual green tape also found in the Narita blast and a can of Liquid Fire-brand starting fluid matching fragments found at the blast site, along with blasting caps and dynamite, including a pound of dynamite in a bag taken out its original tube casing, though none was consistent with blast residue. Reyat insisted only the clock, relays and tuner had been purchased for other than "benign purposes". There was insufficient evidence to hold Parmar as charges were dropped days later.
Bagri would later state before his later trial that he knew he was probably a suspect by October 1985, but insisted he would have faced charges if there were any evidence he had anything to do with the bombing. It was established by November that it was a man with a Sikh name who probably checked the bag in Vancouver that caused the crash. Parmar was not seen in Canada after sometime in late 1986. Authorities believed him to be living in Pakistan where he continued operations against India.Death
Parmar returned to India after the bombing of Air India Flight 182 and was later killed in an encounter with the Punjab police in 1992.
Legacy
In July 2023, posters of Parmar were seen across several places in Canada advertising a car rally in his honor. The posters referred to Parmar as a "shaheed" (martyr). The posters were widely condemned by the Canadian government and by many Sikh Canadians. The Canadian government called the posters "disgusting" and said that they "glorify violence and terrorism." Many Sikh Canadians also expressed their disgust at the posters, saying that they did not represent the views of the Khalistani. The Khalistan Liberation Force defended the posters, saying that they were simply honoring a "martyr" who had fought for the Sikh cause.