1982 plane hijacker passes away in Bathinda BATHINDA: Known for hijacking a plane without any weapon in 1982, Gurbaksh Singh passed away at Adesh Hospital near Bathinda. He was 78 years. A resident of village Pakka Kalan, Gurbaksh Singh used to look after gurdwaras in Bangladesh during 1980s, when he came to know that the Indian government fearing hijack had asked Sikhs not to carry kirpans in planes. The then SGPC president Gurcharan Singh Tohra while condemning the government’s move had stated that a plane could be hijacked even using a ‘toy’. To prove his point, Gurbaksh Singh boarded a Delhi-Srinagar flight in Amritsar on August 4, 1982 and hijacked the plane saying he had a bomb which was in fact a ball made out of cloth pieces. The day coincided with a first day of Akali dharma yudh morcha. Singh took the flight to Lahore which had 70 foreigners on board but fearing that landing it in Pakistan would bring a bad name for the Sikh community, brought it back to Amritsar. The authorities had then asked him to list his demands. He said he hijacked the plane to highlight excesses suffered by Sikhs at the hands of government. Gurbaksh Singh maintained that he would talk only in presence of representatives of the then Akali president Sant Harchand Singh Longowal and Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. He later, surrendered in the presence of the then Akali Dal general secretary Parkash Singh Majithia. Gurbaksh Singh remained in jail for about two and a half years during which he alleged to the mediapersons in 2005 that he was tortured. He was twice employed by SGPC but was fired from his job in 1998 as he was accused of maligning image of Sikh leadership. He also served as a granthi at Gurdwara Qila Mubarak in Bathinda.
Posted on: Mon, 26 Aug 2013 13:15:31 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015