Labh Singh

For the athlete, see Labh Singh (athlete).

Labh Singh
2nd Jathedar of Khalistan Commando Force
In office
9 August 1986 – 12 July 1988
Preceded byManbir Singh Chaheru
Succeeded byKanwaljit Singh Sultanwind
Jathedar of Keshgarh Sahib
In office
1988 – 12 July 1988
Personal details
Born1952
Village Panjwar, Tarn Taran, India
Died12 July 1988
Tanda, Hoshiarpur, Punjab, India
Signature
NicknameSukha Sipahi
Military service
RankGeneral
Battles/warsInsurgency in Punjab

Sukhdev Singh Dhillon (1952 – 12 July 1988), best known as General Labh Singh and also known as Sukha Sipahi and just Labh Singh, was a former Punjab police officer turned militant[1] who took command of the Khalistan Commando Force after its first leader, Manbir Singh Chaheru, was arrested in 1986.[2][3]

He was an associate of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale who did many actions with Surinder Singh Sodhi and fought against the Indian Army during Operation Blue Star.[4] He was involved in the assassination of retired Chief of Army Staff Arun Vaidya and the attack on the Director-General of the Punjab Police, Julio Francis Ribeiro. He was involved in multiple assassinations of police, and government officials as well as targeted attacks on Communists. He allegedly masterminded[5] what was then India's largest bank robbery,[6] taking almost Rs. 60 million (About 1.023 billion rupees in 2023. About $12.5 million USD in 2023) from the Punjab National Bank, Miller Gunj branch, Ludhiana, as well as many other robberies[6][7][8] which enabled the Khalistan Commando Force to buy weapons.[9]

  1. ^ Mahmood 1997, p. 155
  2. ^ "India's most-wanted terrorist captured". New Straits Times Foreign News Service. 11 August 1986. Retrieved 23 January 2016.[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ Atkins, Stephen E. (2004). Encyclopedia of modern worldwide extremists and extremist groups (illustrated ed.). Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 242. ISBN 9780313324857. Retrieved 26 June 2009.
  4. ^ Mahmood 1997, p. 79
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference masterbank was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ a b "Sikh Separatists Masquerade as Police to Stage India's Biggest Bank Robbery". Los Angeles Times. 13 February 1987. Archived from the original on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 23 January 2016. Sikh(bracketed) separatists dressed as police officers looted a bank Thursday and escaped with $4.5 million, the biggest bank heist in Indian history, officials said. Bank robberies have been a major means of financing the Sikh militants' violent campaign for a separate state they call Khalistan. Bank robberies occur almost every week in Punjab.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference CSTbankrob was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ "SGPC honours kin of Vaidya's assassins". Tribuneindia.com. 9 October 2008. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  9. ^ Dhillon, Kirpal (2006). Identity and Survival: Sikh Militancy in India 1978–1993. Pa. Penguin India. ISBN 978-0-14-310036-2. Retrieved 23 January 2016.