By Kuldeep Mann

AMRITSAR. WHAT DOES a retired army officer do with his time? Play golf? Play the stock market? Play the radio? Well, not Amritsar ’s Col. G. S. Sandhu (retd). As Chairman of the Majha Ex-Servicemen Human Rights Front, he is the man who dared to take on a Punjab Police-sponsored thug with a long string of murder cases to his name and a small army of dangerous henchman.

Back in October 2003, the 70-year old Colonel swung into action against Nihnag Tarna Dal chief Ajit Singh Poohla. He’s had some success since then although Poohla has had some success too. Poohla is accused in a 20-year old attempt-to-murder case in Ludhiana . Poohla was then known as Jaswinder Singh alias ‘Good Fighter’. He was a proclaimed offender, jumped bail in the case and changed his identity.

Sandhu got Poohla arrested and had his armed brigade out of several historic gurudwaras. The business with Poolha is far from finished, but Sandhu has taken a couple of new projects. He is going after a senior Congress leader, Tirlok Singh Chakkwalia, on charges of fraud and criminal conspiracy (Chakkwalia is a close associate of former irrigation minister Gurtej Singh Bhullar).

Sandhu recently arranged a meeting between senior BSF officers and hundreds of farmers whose fields are bang on the border, a location that causes considerable difficulty. Sandhu has also floated an NGO, Aapna Punjab, aiming to promote sustainable development in border villages. The fearless Colonel has already got a substantial following in the region.