Shaminder Singh
{{Short description|Indian politician}}
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Shaminder Singh (1947–1991) was twice Member of Parliament[http://www.sikhtimes.com/news_101805a.html History of Troubled Punjab] from Faridkot District in Indian Punjab. Wildly popular during the militancy days, he was known for his independent spirit and boldly kept a respectable distance from Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale which was appreciated as a dare-devil feat by the general public[http://parliamentofindia.nic.in/ls/lsdeb/ls10/ses1/0411079105.htm Speech] in Lok Sabha and largely and especially by the bureaucrats and the heavy-handed Punjab Police officers, who not only allowed but even encouraged him to openly carry an AK-47 on his person, turning him into a local version of self-styled sheriff let loose to up-keep law and order in the highly disturbed Punjab in those days of militancy.
Assassination
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On 18 June 1991, one of his own disciples and bodyguards, Gurmeet Singh, an alleged militant who was rescued by him from the hands of law, invited him to his neighborhood at Jodhu Colony in Muktsar to make a public speech as preparation for the coming general elections for the seat of MLA Muktsar. Gurmeet Singh had already buried a few sticks of dynamite near the microphone stand, exactly were the Bhai was supposed to stand, and as soon as he was on the spot, Gurmeet activated a 12-volt battery-powered circuit to detonate the explosives via underground wiring. .
Gurmeet Singh, who went underground after blowing up Bhai, was traced and shot dead by Bathinda police a few years later.
Family
Bhai Harnirpal Singh "Kuku", his younger brother, later stepped into his shoes and managed to become MLA Muktsar. Younger and humble Bhai Kuku has little in common with his elder brother from political point of view. Presently Bhai Kuku is the General Secretary of Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee.
References
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Category:People from Sri Muktsar Sahib
Category:Indian politicians assassinated in the 20th century
Category:People murdered in Punjab, India
Category:Deaths by explosive device
Category:Lok Sabha members from Punjab, India
Category:Shiromani Akali Dal politicians
Category:Victims of Sikh terrorism
Category:People from Faridkot district
Category:1991 murders in India