Former militant Gurbaksh Singh Khalsa, who had been protesting for the last several years demanding the release of Sikh prisoners, allegedly committed suicide at his native Thaska Ali village in the district on Tuesday evening.
Confirming the incident, SP Abhishek Garg said Khalsa jumped from an overhead water tank where he was holding a protest. He was rushed to the Lok Naik Jai Prakash Civil Hospital where he was pronounced dead, the SP added.
After the news of Khalsa’s death reached his village and local gurdwara, angry villagers blocked the Kurukshetra-Kaithal Road and raised anti-government slogans. SSP Garg said the situation was under control and additional forces had been deployed in Khalsa’s village and other areas.
In November 2013, Khalsa had gone on a 44-day hunger strike at Gurdwara Amb Sahib Mohali to press for release of six Sikh detainees who had completed their sentences. It was after this hunger strike that the issue of Sikh detainees, who had been sentenced in militancy-related cases and had served around two decades in jails, came to limelight.
The public support ensured the detainees were released on parole and he ended his campaign after Giani Gurbachan Singh (Akal Takht Jathedar), promised to ensure their release. After none of the detained Sikhs were released, Khalsa restarted his hunger strike a year after his first hunger strike.
Over the course of the campaign, he got support from various other Sikh bodies. A number of Punjabi singers, actors and other artists had visited him and pledged their support for his campaign.
His second campaign started on November 14, 2014 at Lakhnaur Gurdwara in Ambala. On the January 8, 2015, Khalsa, who had been fasting for 56 days, had proposed to visit Akal Takht, but a police blockade just a short distance from the gurdwara prevented him fulfilling his wishes.
On January 10, 2015, he developed breathing difficulties and was taken by authorities to a hospital in Ambala, but Khalsa continued hunger strike whilst in hospital. He ended his hunger strike after 64 days on January 15, 2015.
