Beginning As per
The Tribune, the day of the
Sikh–Nirankari clashes (13 April 1978) was also the day when his marriage was fixed. On this day, he took a pledge to take revenge on the
Sant Nirankari Mission, a sub-sect of the
Nirankari sect of
Sikhism. Sukhdev was the president of BKI. It was considered as the best armed and funded among the Khalistani militant groups. In 1984 Sukhdev publicly claimed responsibility for killing 35 Nirankaris and later in the same year 78 Nirankaris. In 1981 BKI split between members in foreign nations under Tawlinder Singh and members in India under Sukhdev who was made overall head. Sukhdev said no unlawful activity will be done outside of India. The first unit of BKI was founded in Canada in 1981. This organisation has a presence in the
United States,
Canada,
UK,
Germany,
France,
Belgium,
Norway,
Switzerland and
Pakistan. BKI became a major participant in Khalistan movement under his guidance and participated in hundreds of operations against Indian security forces and remained active in several Indian states. On 16 October 1981, Sukhdev and fellow BKI militants attacked Niranjan Singh who was a Nirankari and
Indian Administrative Service officer. He was the
Deputy Commissioner of
Gurdaspur. He was a key accused in the 1978 Sikh-Nirankari clash. Niranjan managed to survive the attack in an injured state, but his brother was killed. On 16 November 1981, 2 BKI militants on motorcycles under Sukhdev killed Parhal Chand the Nirankari head of
Kapurathala district. He was one of also the seven Nirankari stars. In the killing, Chand's father was killed and his brother was injured. On 22 May 1982, BKI militants opened fire directed at Nirankari's in
Patti killing 4 and injuring many more. On 10 September 1983, Sukhdev killed Kulwant Singh the Nirankari head of
Faridkot.
Split from Jaranil Singh Bhindranwale and aftermath Sukhdev had initially aligned himself with
Jaranil Singh Bhindranwale, but formed a closer alliance with
Harchand Singh Longowal and the
Akali Dal who had a falling out the Bhindranwale in 1983. Sukhdev led the BKI to confronting and occupying the Guru Nanak Niwas from Bhindranwale who reloacted to the
Akal Takht.
Various assassinations and attacks In February 1986 BKI militants killed
Punjab Police DSP Harpal Singh. He was killed along with his father. On 19 January 1987, BKI militants under Sukhdev killed
Joginder Pal Pandey in
Ludhiana. He was the general secretary of the
Indian National Congress Party in Punjab and a member of the
Punjab Legislative Assembly. In the attack Pandey's security guard Sohan Lal was killed. Three BKI militants in a vehicle had opened fire when Pandey's car was stopped at a gas station. This incident led to a curfew in Ludhiana. BKI launched an attack in September 1987 with
Gurjant Singh Budhsinghwala of
Khalistan Commando Force (KCF). The target was
Station House Officer (SHO)
Sub-Inspector Mith Singh. Mith Singh had been hand-picked by then chief of Punjab Police
Julio F. Riberio. He was picked to deal with Budhsinghwala. Mith Singh had been accused of police brutality and targeting Budhsinghwala's family. Budhsinghwala began plotting to kill Mith Singh with Husan Singh and BKI militants. The attack was carried out by Budshinghwala and fellow Sikh militants on 15 September 1987 at around 9am. Mith Singh was shot while he was walking along with his guard, a police
constable. Both of their guns were taken by Budhsinghwala. In the crossfire a schoolboy was also killed and five others were injured. The killing is said to have greatly alarmed Punjab Chief of Police Riberio. Mith Singh was one of his best and most loyal officers. Commandant Gobind Ram was killed on 10 January 1990. Gobind Ram was killed in a bomb blast at the headquarters of the 75th battalion of the Punjab Armed Police in
Jalandhar. He was commandant of the 75th battalion. The planning of the killing was done by
Toofan Singh and BKI militants. The bomb was planted in the cooler of his office. In the blast, three others, including
Sub Inspector Prem Kumar, were killed and at least four were critically wounded. The blast also caused major damage to the building. All the windows of the second floor were broken and a fire broke out on the first floor. Multiple vehicles parked were also damaged. He had been on the hit list of Sikhs over his alleged role in 38
fake encounters. On 16 February 1990, KCF,
Bhindranwale Tiger Force of Khalistan Sangha (BTKF (S)), BKI, and
Sikh Students Federation (SSF) collectively claimed responsibility for an explosion in
Phillaur that killed Inspector Harcharan Singh Soori and
Assistant Sub-Inspector Ram Moorti on the 11th. The bomb also wounded 2 Sergeants. The explosion happened in an armoured and guarded police training facility. Both were put in a special armoured room for extra safety, but were killed at 9 pm from an explosion within their room. Both officers had been accused of torturing Sikhs. Inspector Soori had survived a previous assassination attempt in 1988. On 25 February 1990, BKI killed a police informant involved in the killing of their militants. On 26 February 1990, BKI attack a
Central Reserve Police Force patrol near Ajab Vali killing 5 soldiers and injuring 6. On 16 March 1990, BKI militants killed 3 serial rapists near
Batala who were wanted in over 40 cases of rape. On 16 March 1990, BKI claimed responsibility for killing multiple
Border Security Force men in
Zaffarwal. On 6 April 1990, BKI claimed responsibility for killing 1 Assistant Sub-Inspector and 6 Constables. On 14 May 1990, Gurcharan Singh Tohra, president of SGPC, was attacked in his car. A jeep with about six militants drove beside Tohra's vehicle and opened fire. An escort car attempted to chase them but they escaped. Tohra managed to survive but was injured. Tohra's bodyguard was also injured. Tohra's driver was killed and so was former
MLA H. S. Rajla who was accompanying Tohra. Budhsinghwala and Paramjit Singh Panjwar of KCF, Sukhdev of BKI, and Daljit Singh of SSF collectively claimed responsibility. They said he was attacked for his involvement in Operation Blue Star. On 23 July 1990, KLF, KCF, BKI, and SSF collectively claimed responsibility for killing the Chief Engineer of the
Sutlej Yamuna link canal (SYL), ML Sekhri, and Superintending Engineer of the SYL, Avtar Singh. They were killed while attending a meeting with fellow engineers in
Chandigarh. On 21 September 1990, KCF, KLF, BKI, and SSF claimed responsibility for an attack on a
SPO base which killed 2 officers. On 21 September 1990, KCF, KLF, BKI, and SSF claimed responsibility for killing a
Nirankari in
Patiala. On 23 November 1990, KCF, KLF, BKI, BTFK, and SSF claimed responsibility for killing Indian National Congress president of
Jalandhar district, Gurdarshan Singh. They claimed he was a police informant involved in the killing of militants. On 24 November 1990, at 9 am Sukhdev along with other militant groups part of the Sohan Singh Committee killed Superintendent of Police (Operations) Harjit Singh in a bomb blast at
Tarn Taran. Sikh militants had been studying Harjit's travel routes for some time. A remote-controlled bomb had been placed on a road Harjit usually drove by to go to the doctor. When Harjit's lead security vehicles drove by and it was just his vehicle over the bomb it was detonated. In the explosion three of his security guards were killed and his vehicle was destroyed. A permanent curfew was put on the town after. Twenty-two days prior to his death Harjit had killed the chief of BTFK (S)
Sukhwinder Singh Sangha along with four other militants.
Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF), KCF, BKI, SSF, and BTFK (S) members held a meeting afterward pledging to kill Harjit. Major Singh of KCF was given the lead role in the killing. On 26 October 1991, R. N. Goyal, Chief Health Officers Ludhiana, Bachitar Singh Director Health Services Punjab, and 5 others were killed by KCF, KLF, BTFK, BKI, and SSF. They claimed that the doctors had forged autopsy’s, improperly treated Sikhs, and aided in police killings. ==Death==