He was survived by his wife and son. His wife Amrita Atwal later joined the Punjab Civil Services and retired as an IAS officer. His son, Harbir Atwal, also joined the Punjab Police as an Inspector, currently serving as a SP.
Death
On 23 April 1983, while serving as the DIG of Police Jalandhar range, Atwal visited the Golden Temple to pray.[6] While leaving the Darbar Sahib, he was shot and killed by a lone gunman. Two others were critically injured.[7][6][8][9] The killing took place in broad daylight metres away from his bodyguards and official car. Immediately after the shootout, Atwal's bodyguard and car driver escaped in his car.[10] A group of Punjab Armed Police jawans were stationed nearby but instead of nabbing the assassin, they also fled along with the crowd from the shooting spot. The militants from inside the temple came out to celebrate around Atwal's body and fired celebratory shots in the air.[10] His corpse remained on the temple steps for several hours, and the Police force did not picked it up fearing further firings from the militants. Punjab CM Darbara Singh then telephoned Bhindranwale asking to allow the dead body to be picked up to which he agreed.[8]
Aftermath
The "Top Cop" Atwal's killing shocked the entire state of Punjab. It established a fear of Bhindranwale's gunmen among the locals. The Sikhs sympathetic to the Akali movement were also appalled by the incident as they viewed it as offensive towards Golden Temple. Akali leaders had an emergency meeting to discuss the aftermath of the murder. Akali Dal such as like Harchand Singh Longowal and Gurcharan Singh Tohra immediately denounced the murder in clear terms on record. Meanwhile, Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale described the killing as "the handiwork of the Government to malign Sikhs".[10]
Chief Minister of PunjabDarbara Singh advised Prime Minister of IndiaIndira Gandhi to send Police force inside the Golden temple. The law and order situation in Punjab continued to deteriorate further and leading to the PM taking the decision of sending in army to assist the local law enforcement and to flush out the militants out of the temple in Operation Bluestar.[6][4]
Published accounts
Documentary
Operation Blue Star and the assassination of Indira Gandhi (2013) is a TV documentary which premièred on ABP News Channel series, Pradhanmantri. This documentary directed by Puneet Sharma and narrated by Shekhar Kapur showed the circumstances of Atwal's murder.[4][11]
^Dilip K. Das; Peter C. Kratcoski (2003). Meeting the challenges of global terrorism: prevention, control, and recovery. Lexington Books. p. 89. ISBN978-0-7391-0499-6.
atwal, avtar, singh, atwal, deputy, inspector, general, punjab, police, murdered, follower, jarnail, singh, bhindranwale, steps, golden, temple, while, coming, after, prayers, april, 1983, murder, motion, chain, events, that, commencement, operation, blue, sta. Avtar Singh Atwal was a Deputy Inspector General in Punjab Police He was murdered by a follower of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale at the steps of Golden temple while coming out after prayers on 25 April 1983 1 2 3 His murder set in motion a chain of events that led to the commencement of the Operation Blue Star 4 He was a posthumous recipient of President s Police Medal for Gallantry 5 Avtar Singh AtwalBorn 1943 02 23 23 February 1943Punjab British IndiaDied25 April 1983 1983 04 25 aged 40 Amritsar PunjabPolice careerCountryIndiaAllegianceIndian Police ServiceRankDeputy Inspector General of PoliceAwardsPresident s Police Medal for Gallantry Contents 1 Personal life 2 Death 3 Aftermath 4 Published accounts 4 1 Documentary 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksPersonal life EditHe was survived by his wife and son His wife Amrita Atwal later joined the Punjab Civil Services and retired as an IAS officer His son Harbir Atwal also joined the Punjab Police as an Inspector currently serving as a SP Death EditOn 23 April 1983 while serving as the DIG of Police Jalandhar range Atwal visited the Golden Temple to pray 6 While leaving the Darbar Sahib he was shot and killed by a lone gunman Two others were critically injured 7 6 8 9 The killing took place in broad daylight metres away from his bodyguards and official car Immediately after the shootout Atwal s bodyguard and car driver escaped in his car 10 A group of Punjab Armed Police jawans were stationed nearby but instead of nabbing the assassin they also fled along with the crowd from the shooting spot The militants from inside the temple came out to celebrate around Atwal s body and fired celebratory shots in the air 10 His corpse remained on the temple steps for several hours and the Police force did not picked it up fearing further firings from the militants Punjab CM Darbara Singh then telephoned Bhindranwale asking to allow the dead body to be picked up to which he agreed 8 Aftermath EditThe Top Cop Atwal s killing shocked the entire state of Punjab It established a fear of Bhindranwale s gunmen among the locals The Sikhs sympathetic to the Akali movement were also appalled by the incident as they viewed it as offensive towards Golden Temple Akali leaders had an emergency meeting to discuss the aftermath of the murder Akali Dal such as like Harchand Singh Longowal and Gurcharan Singh Tohra immediately denounced the murder in clear terms on record Meanwhile Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale described the killing as the handiwork of the Government to malign Sikhs 10 Chief Minister of Punjab Darbara Singh advised Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi to send Police force inside the Golden temple The law and order situation in Punjab continued to deteriorate further and leading to the PM taking the decision of sending in army to assist the local law enforcement and to flush out the militants out of the temple in Operation Bluestar 6 4 Published accounts EditDocumentary Edit Operation Blue Star and the assassination of Indira Gandhi 2013 is a TV documentary which premiered on ABP News Channel series Pradhanmantri This documentary directed by Puneet Sharma and narrated by Shekhar Kapur showed the circumstances of Atwal s murder 4 11 See also EditAchhar Singh Chhina Arjan Singh Mastana Baldev Singh Mann Darshan Singh Canadian Deepak Dhawan Gursharan Singh theatre director Jaimal Singh Padda Nidhan Singh Gudhan Pash Satyapal Dang Teja Singh Swatantar Punjab insurgencyReferences Edit Dilip K Das Peter C Kratcoski 2003 Meeting the challenges of global terrorism prevention control and recovery Lexington Books p 89 ISBN 978 0 7391 0499 6 Video on YouTube Vir Sanghvi Vir Sanghvi Retrieved 7 February 2017 a b c Pradhanmantri Episode 14 ABP News 25 January 2018 Retrieved 7 June 2018 Martyr s Gallery Punjabpolice gov in Archived from the original on 21 March 2017 Retrieved 7 June 2018 a b c Ghosh Srikanta 1997 Indian Democracy Derailed Politics and Politicians APH Publishing p 95 ISBN 9788170248668 Roy Kaushik 2 March 2017 Unconventional Warfare in South Asia 1947 to the Present ISBN 9781351877091 a b Bhanwar Harbir Singh Interview ABP News Retrieved 7 June 2018 Pacific Affairs Volume 67 1994 Pan Pacific relations ed University of British Columbia 1994 pp 51 58 a b c DIG Avtar Singh Atwal brutally murdered outside Golden Temple in Amritsar Retrieved 7 June 2018 Pradhanmantri Episode 14 Operation Blue Star and the assassination of Indira Gandhi ABP News Retrieved 7 June 2018 External links EditLow Intensity Conflicts in India An Analysis 1 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title A S Atwal amp oldid 1093242131, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
