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{{Short description|Indian police officer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=March 2018}}
{{Infobox police officer
| name = Avtar Singh Atwal
| image =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{birth date |1943|2|23|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab]], [[British Raj|British India]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|1983|4|25|1943|2|df=yes}}
| death_place = [[Amritsar]], Punjab
| other_names =
| alma_mater =
| awards = [[President's Police Medal|President's Police Medal for Gallantry]]
| department =
| badgenumber =
| shieldnumber =
| allegiance = [[Indian Police Service]]
| service = India
| serviceyears =
| rank = [[File:Deputy Inspector General of Police.png |20px]] [[Deputy Inspector General of Police]]
| memorials =
| laterwork =
| module =
}}
'''Avtar Singh Atwal''' was a [[Deputy inspector general of police#India|Deputy Inspector General]] in [[Punjab Police (India)|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<ref name="DasKratcoski2003">{{cite book|author1=Dilip K. Das|author2=Peter C. Kratcoski|title=Meeting the challenges of global terrorism: prevention, control, and recovery |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oA_7jvsaBzYC&pg=PA89|year=2003| publisher=Lexington Books|isbn=978-0-7391-0499-6|page=89}}</ref><ref>{{YouTube|gJW1VfQtkaI}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://virsanghvi.com/Article-Details.aspx?key=1027 |title=Vir Sanghvi |publisher=Vir Sanghvi |accessdate=2017-02-07}}</ref> His murder set in motion a chain of events that led to the commencement of the [[Operation Blue Star]].<ref name="ABP14"/> He was a posthumous recipient of [[President's Police Medal|President's Police Medal for Gallantry]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.punjabpolice.gov.in/Martyrgallery.aspx |title=Martyr's Gallery |publisher=Punjabpolice.gov.in |accessdate=7 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170321231817/http://punjabpolice.gov.in/Martyrgallery.aspx |archive-date=21 March 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Personal life==
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.<ref name="Ghosh"/> While leaving the [[Darbar Sahib Hall|Darbar Sahib]], he was shot and killed by a lone gunman. Two others were critically injured.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Roy |first1=Kaushik |title=Unconventional Warfare in South Asia, 1947 to the Present |date=2 March 2017 |isbn=9781351877091 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PEBBDgAAQBAJ&q=satish+jacob+punjab+atwal&pg=PT274}}</ref><ref name="Ghosh">{{cite book |last1=Ghosh |first1=Srikanta |title=Indian Democracy Derailed Politics and Politicians |date=1997 |publisher=APH Publishing |page=95 |isbn=9788170248668 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RGyO0E86X1oC&pg=PA95}}</ref><ref name="Bhanwar">{{cite web |last1=Bhanwar |first1=Harbir Singh |title=Interview |url=http://www.abplive.in/videos/watch-pradhanmantri-episode-14-188744 |publisher=ABP News |accessdate=7 June 2018}}</ref><ref name="Pacific_Atwal">{{cite book |title=Pacific Affairs, Volume 67 |year=1994 |publisher=University of British Columbia |pages=51–58 |edition=1994 - Pan-Pacific relations |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WmiGAAAAIAAJ}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Today_Atwal">{{Cite news|url=http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/dig-avtar-singh-atwal-brutally-murdered-outside-golden-temple-in-amritsar/1/371590.html|title=DIG Avtar Singh Atwal brutally murdered outside Golden Temple in Amritsar|access-date=7 June 2018}}</ref> 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 [[Celebratory gunfire|fired celebratory shots]] in the air.<ref name="Today_Atwal"/> 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.<ref name="Bhanwar"/>

==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"''.<ref name="Today_Atwal"/>

[[Chief Minister of Punjab (India)|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.<ref name="Ghosh"/><ref name="ABP14"/>

==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.<ref name="ABP14">{{cite news|title=Pradhanmantri Episode 14|url=http://www.abplive.in/videos/watch-pradhanmantri-episode-14-188744|accessdate=7 June 2018|publisher=[[ABP News]]|date=25 January 2018}}</ref><ref name="PMABP">{{cite web|title=Pradhanmantri - Episode 14: Operation Blue Star and the assassination of Indira Gandhi|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJW1VfQtkaI?t=22m40s|publisher=ABP News|accessdate=7 June 2018}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Achhar 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 insurgency]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=3nx_HvrbxjgC&pg=PA199&lpg=PA199&dq=as+atwal+golden+temple&source=web&ots=zo5WKlFIvH&sig=ZYRgQVqrD8Pq8ZTeZFBu2R8CoNM Low Intensity Conflicts in India: An Analysis ]
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=oA_7jvsaBzYC&pg=PA89&lpg=PA89&dq=atwal+police+golden+temple&source=web&ots=dIyRKY5_Ei&sig=RSnM93ZV6Iwc8QSKJy9ptEzHd1g#PPA90,M1]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Atwal, Avtar Singh}}
[[Category:1943 births]]
[[Category:1983 deaths]]
[[Category:Indian Sikhs]]
[[Category:Assassinated Indian people]]
[[Category:People from Punjab, India]]
[[Category:Punjabi people]]
[[Category:Male murder victims]]
[[Category:Victims of the insurgency in Punjab]]
[[Category:People murdered in Punjab, India]]
[[Category:Deaths by firearm in India]]
[[Category:Indian Police Service officers]]
[[Category:Assassinated police officers]]
[[Category:Victims of Sikh terrorism]]
[[Category:1983 murders in India]]

A. S. Atwal - Revision history

Bot at 11:22, 15 June 2022