Talwinder Singh Parmar
Talwinder Singh Parmar | |
|---|---|
| 1st Chief of Babbar Khalsa | |
| In office 1979–1992 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Wadhawa Singh Babbar |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 26 February 1944 Panchhat, Kapurthala State, British India (now in Punjab, India) |
| Died | 15 October 1992 (aged 48) Kang Araian, Phillaur, Punjab, India |
| Nickname | Talwinder Singh Babbar |
Talwinder Singh Parmar (or Hardev Singh Parmar; 26 February 1944 – 15 October 1992) was a Sikh militant and the mastermind of the 1985 Air India Flight 182 bombing, which killed 329 people. It was the worst single incident of aviation terrorism in history until the September 11 attacks in the United States. In addition, another bomb was meant to explode aboard Air India Flight 301 in Japan the same day, but it exploded while the plane was still grounded, killing two people. Parmar was also the founder, leader, and jathedar (head) of Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), better known as Babbar Khalsa, a Sikh militant group involved in the Khalistan movement.
Talwinder was accused of founding Babbar Khalsa International along with Sukhdev Singh Babbar in 1978, and leading Babbar Khalsa in Canada.
In 1981, he was accused by India of killing 2 Punjab Police officers and was arrested in 1983 in West Germany. He was released in 1984 after which he immediately returned to Canada. After the bombing of Air India Flight 182 in 1985, Parmar returned to India and was allegedly killed in a gun fight with Punjab Police on 15 October 1992. He was later named as the mastermind of the 1985 Air India bombing.