From student politics to Nihang chief: Poolha was a law unto himself

Fifty-two-year-old Poolha was a rule unto himself. He specialised in “taking over” the control of gurdwaras and spreading terror, allegedly with the blessings of a section of senior police officials even during the peak of terrorism in the 1980s.

His actual name was Jaswinder Singh. Poolha was a name given to him after he became the jathedar of Taruna Dal. A product of student politics, the records show that he was involved in a shooting incident in 1981. He was gambling with some youngsters, had a fight, and allegedly fired at one Gurcharan Singh and others. They escaped unhurt, but one passerby was injured. A case was registered against him and subsequently, he was declared a proclaimed offender.

Later, he changed his appearance and name to join a Nihang outfit, Taruna Dal, headed by Baba Kahan Singh, to escape from the police. After the killing of Baba Kahan Singh by militants in the mid 1980s, he was made the jathedar of the group. After taking over as the chief, his confrontation with militants started, as they wanted to take over more than a dozen deras of the Taruna Dal across the state, especially in the border districts. Poolha became a police informer and was close to many police officers, who are now in senior positions. They include two retired DGPs, one serving ADGP, IGP and a number of SPs.

A senior officer said, “Poolha was close to almost every police officer who worked in the state during terrorism years.” In fact, the Punjab police had given him a bullet-proof car, a pilot and an escort vehicle. It was reported that he used these vehicles for smuggling and that he and his group used to grow poppy. His name also figured in a property dispute. In 1981-82, he forcefully took possession of Bhai Taru Singh Gurdwara in Poolha.

Poolha, who belonged to Model Town in Ludhiana, had two brothers. One of them, Mohan Singh, was killed by militants in 1999 and the other, Maljit Singh alias Kuku, was allegedly an opium smuggler and was allegedly killed by his own men.

With his death, the splinter group of Taruna Dal faces an uncertain future. However, the influence of his group had been on the decline in the past five years with people revolting against him.

MAJOR CASES AGAINST POOLHA

• On June 1, 1991, Poolha and his men fired indiscriminately and threw hand grenades killing seven members of a family including the children of Mangal Singh and Bachan Singh. These were apparently revenge killings by Poolha and his accomplices.

• Poolha and six others were booked for abduction, encroachment, demanding ransom, and killing a Moga resident, Mohan Singh, in October 1990. Action was taken against Poolha following a complaint by Sada Singh, the son of the deceased.

• In 2004, the police arrested Poolha in connection with three cases — kidnapping, inflicting injuries and threatening — registered against him at Bhikhiwind police station.

• In 2004, the police booked him under the NDPS Act. He was accused of growing poppy on a gurdwara land in Sector 39, Chandigarh.

• In 2004, Nawanshahr police arrested Poolha for the murder of Nihang Sukhdev Singh at Mazar Saeed Jaura Peer, Behram, on June 20, 2002. The police say Poolha had murdered Sukhdev and tried to implicate his one-time personal assistant Swaran Singh to settle scores.