‘Don’t refer to my husband a butcher’

For her it was also unfair to label her husband a tankhaiya (guilty of religious misconduct) by a section of Sikhs. “He never went against the religious tenets,” said Kaur trying to wash off the negativity Gill earned during his career.

Chandigarh Heminder Kaur, wife of KPS Gill, is pained at her husband being referred to a “butcher” by a section of Sikhs. Gill earned the sobriquet of ‘Super-cop’ for his fight against terrorism in Punjab in late 1980s and 1990s.

“Please don’t refer to him with this (butcher) word,” said Kaur, while talking to HT. In her late seventies, Kaur fondly remember her husband whom she married in 1959, a year after he joined the IPS as her hero and “misses him a lot”.

For her it was also unfair to label her husband a tankhaiya (guilty of religious misconduct) by a section of Sikhs. “He never went against the religious tenets,” said Kaur trying to wash off the negativity Gill earned during his career.

“He is responsible for peace in Punjab, I think he’s an inspiration for many,” said Kaur, a trained teacher, who chose to be a housewife and a support system for Gill. “The most fascinating memory about my husband is the way he used to twirl his moustaches. I can never forget that,” she said as tear flowed out of her eyes.

1958-batch IPS officer Gill was posted in Punjab in April 1988 at the peak of terrorism and subsequently became the DGP and served in state until his retirement in 1995. He died in May 2017.

“He was a real hero,” she said, recalling an incident in Assam, when their house was attacked by the insurgents in the middle of the night when he was posted there. “He pulled a curtain rod and chased the insurgents”.

“Gill saab was not very religious but was a follower of Guru Gobind Singh whom he considered as his guiding force,” she said, adding that he was never biased.