Gurbachan Singh

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Baba Gurbachan Singh was the leader of the Sant Nirankari sect, considered to be hetrodox by the mainstream Sikhs. He was declared Satguru by his predecessor Baba Avtar Singh in 1962.

[edit] Events of 1978-1980

In 1978, the Nirankari mission from Delhi and other parts of the Indian sub-continent held a procession and a conference at Amritsar.

A few Sikhs, of Akhand Kirtani Jatha and Damdami Taksal, marched from the Darbar Sahib to protest against this Nirankari procession in which Gurbachan Singh had allegedly had seated himself on a higher position than Sri Guru Granth Sahib and made insulting remarks against the Sikh faith.

In an armed conflict, 13 Singhs including Jatha leader Bhai Fauja Singh were killed. Gurbachan Singh and 64 of his followers were arrested.

On April 13, 1978 they were all acquitted. Mr. Gupta, the session-Judge of Karnal, stated in his judgement "The case of the prosecution was intrinsically wrong. It was all frame-up and after thought."

On 25th September 1978, Gurbachan Singh arrived in Kanpur protected by police. The news of his presence leaked out. A group of protesters arrived at the Nirankari Bhawan, where in an armed conflict resulted in police firing resulting in 13 deaths.

On 28th September, 1978 the Punjab Government banned the entry of the Nirankari Chief in Punjab for six months. But the Supreme Court ordered the ban to be lifted.

On October 6th 1978, a Hukumnama from Sri Akal Takht Sahib by the Jathedar of Sri Akal Takht Sahib was issued, calling upon sikhs to socially boycott these Nirankaris.

In 1980, it is said that a Ranjit Singh, a member of the Akhand Kirtani Jatha managed to obtain employment at the Nirankari headquarters in Delhi as a carpenter. On the evening of April 24, 1980, He waited with an automatic rifle in a room of the guest house. Ranjit Singh shot Gurbachan Singh through a window when he returned from a public function at about 11pm. Ranjit Singh managed to escape.

The FIR named twenty persons for the murder, including several known associates of Bhindranwale, who was also charged with conspiracy to murder.

Ranjit Singh surrendered in 1983, and was in jail for 13-years. In 1990, while still in Tihar Jail, he was named the Akal Takht jathedar, and took over the post when he was released in 1996.

According to a Hindustan Times report, Ranjit Singh said about the murder: "I have no regrets. I did it for the Panth (community)."

In 1997, the Delhi High Court upheld his conviction and cancelled bail. Ranjit refused to surrender. The government quickly ordered a remission of the remaining part of his sentence to avoid a confrontation.