Shaheed Bhai Heera Singh Khooni

Bhindranwala Tigers Force of Khalistan

 

Bhai Heera Singh Khooni was born in the year 1957, to the blessed womb of mother, Mata Mohinder Kaur and father, Sardar Dyal Singh in the village of Kasel, Dhand, district Tarn Taran. He was the second eldest of six sons – Bhai Rulda Singh, Bhai Heera Singh, Bhai Baldhir Singh, Bhai Randhir Singh, Bhai Kashmir Singh and Bhai Kulbir Singh. The family lived a traditional village life and farming was their main means of earning and livelihood. Bhai Heera Singh studied up to tenth grade at a local school in the village of Dhand. In 1975, his Anand Karaj (marriage) was arranged to Bibi Kulwinder Kaur. They were blessed with two sons, Bhai Samunder Singh and Bhai Parwinder Singh. After Bhai Heera Singh got married him and his family were blessed with Amrit (baptised) and vowed to live a Gursikh life dedicated to their Guru and Khalsa Panth.

 

Although, the family farmed their land for an income it was not enough to sustain such a large family of six sons. Bhai Heera Singh decided to look for a job. He relocated with his family and began working for the SGPC (Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee) at Baba Budha Sahib Gurdwara in Amritsar as an attendant to cut receipts for any donations that were made at the Gurdwara by the worshippers. During this time in the early 1980s, the Dharam Yudh Morcha had begun. Bhai Heera Singh fully supported the movement and would regularly attend the congregations at Sri Darbar Sahib and listen to the speeches of the great Sant Jarnail Singh Ji Khalsa Bhindranwale. He soon became a known Singh within the sangat and was blessed enough to receive an opportunity to meet Sant Jarnail Singh Ji Khalsa Bhindranwale in person. From this day on, he became close with the Singhs of Damdami Taksal and also the institution itself. In turn, he permanently shifted his family to Sri Darbar Sahib.

 

At the time of the attack for Sri Harmandir Sahib in June 1984 by the Indian government and its army, Bhai Heera Singh was present during the battle and fought like a lion as did many other Jhujaru Singhs and Singhnia. Even though he was on the battlefield, his time for Shaheedi had not yet come. On June 6th he was caught and captured by the Indian army within the Sri Darbar Sahib complex. He was kept imprisoned for up to eighteen months then released on bail. However, during and even after his release the Punjab Police continued to harass him and his family. The police charged him with multiple fake cases and implicated him. This was a means to destroy his daily life and keep him in a cycle of imprisonment and release. This tactic was often used so that the family would not regain any sense or normality even after Singhs were released from prison. Bhai Heera Singh was left with no choice but to go underground to avoid the continuous harassment of the Indian security forces. He went to serve with the great Jhujaru leader, Baba Gurbachan Singh Manochahal of Bhindranwala Tigers Force of Khalistan. A bounty of 50,000 rupees was also put on his head.

 

On 25th July 1987, Bhai Sahib was staying undercover with a family in the village of Ibban Kalan in Amritsar. A tout who was known to be from the village of Sangna tipped off the police on Bhai Heera Singh’s whereabouts. On this night Bhai Heera Singh was sound asleep, when suddenly the police surrounded the house in the middle of the night. The police arrested Bhai Heera Singh and another Singh who was with him (unknown name, from the village of Mannan). Both were taken to the Maal Mandi interrogation centre in Amritsar. Here Bhai Heera Singh was brutally tortured for days. Nine days later, on 4th August 1987, the police took him and his fellow Jhujaru Singh to the Chatiwind Riverside and killed them in a fake encounter with bullets. They both attained Shaheedi (martyrdom).

 

Their bodies were never returned to their families. The families of both these great Shaheeds carried out a memorial program and raised flags in their memory. These were later torn down by another notorious anti Sikh element known as Phoola.

 

Information given by the family of Shaheed Bhai Heera Singh Khooni