E-Paper
Tearful adieu to 104-yr-old ex-DSP Gurbakhsh Singh
Gurbakhsh passed away due to age-related ailments on December 24
The bhog ceremony of Gurbakhsh Singh, 104, a retired DSP of Punjab Police, was performed at Gurdwara Gujarkhan at Model Town here on Monday .
Singh, who turned 104 on December 2, passed away due to age-related ailments on December 24.
Born in Gujarkhan town of undivided Punjab on December 2, 1916, he completed his schooling from Guru Nanak Khalsa High School, Gujarkhan, and went on to do his graduation from Khalsa College, Amritsar, in 1937.
Father of well-known educationist Surinder Bir Singh, former principal of Guru Nanak Engineering College, Ludhiana, Gurbaksh had joined Punjab police as assistant sub inspector at Dera Gazi Khan (now in Pakistan). He retired on December 31,1974.
He was deputed the first station house officer of Ludhiana’s Division Number 5 police station in 1947. Gurbakhsh had also participated in the 1967 and 1971 wars.
Gurbaksh had come into the limelight last year when despite being unwell, he walked down to vote at a polling booth in Model Gram. He had then stated that he had a strong faith in democracy and exercised his franchise in every election held after independence.
A philanthropist, he used to spend a significant portion of his pension on education of the poor and needy. He was also a champion of communal harmony and stated that Partition was the saddest thing to have happened to Punjabis.
People from all walks of life attended the Bhog ceremony. Social activist and industrialist Ranjodh Singh said that Gurbaksh was an institution in himself.
“Gurbaksh Singh was a repository of Punjab’s history. Spending time with him was always a learning experience. He has witnessed the socio- economic and political changes that have taken place in the past century,” Ranjodh said.
Cabinet minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu also expressed his condolences. “We have grown up listening to the stories of his conduct as a police officer. The void left after by his death cannot be easily filled,” said Ashu.
Gurbaksh is survived by his children Gurcharan Kaur, Jatinder Bir Singh, Surinder Bir Singh, Gurminder Kaur and Harvinder Kaur.
