He is an IPS officer, somebody whom every government selected to handle the toughest assignments available. Be it tackling ULFA insurgency in Assam, Naga Militants of Nagaland, Pak-sponsored terrorism in Kashmir, Punjab, and the Terai region of Uttar Pradesh, or even communal strife emanating from the Babri Masjid-Ranmabhoomi Temple fracas, the 1959-batch Prakash Singh was always pressed into service. And he always came up trumps, even if it meant putting his own life on the line. At least four attempts were made on his life in different parts of the country. He, however, escaped every time, as he puts it, due to the intervention of something that can be mentioned as the ‘divine power’. To hear his adventures in his own voice, kindly click on the following link…
It was because of such plots and assassination attempts on his life that his family consulted an astrologer when he was drafted to fight militancy at its peak in Punjab. Naga militants issued a death warrant for him. Sikh militants laid a trap to gun him down near the Pakistan border.
An alumnus of Allahabad University, Mr. Singh has written four books so far. His earlier three books are Kohima to Kashmir, The Naxalism Movement in India, and The Struggle for Police Reforms in India. But it is his latest book, Memoirs of a Top Cop: Unforgettable Chapters, that is making waves these days.
He has watched militancy from such close quarters that he minces no words when it comes to protecting the nation and its inhabitants. He feels India botched up Rubaiya Sayeed’s kidnapping, and AI-184 hijacking of Kandahar, big time. “We should have sacrificed Sayeed, daughter of then Union Home Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.
Mr Singh, while working with the BSF, handled the Hazratbal Shrine seizure besides planning an operation to flush out Afghanistan-trained terrorists from a hideout in Kashmir. However, the operation was stymied by the then Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao on the advice of the army chief Gen BC Joshi on the apprehension of civilian casualties.
In this no-holds-barred interview with Indian Masterminds, Mr. Singh discusses three mantras that helped him steady his career ship despite having his way. He also debates the qualities an upright officer needs to have and how training at Civil Services Officers Institutes like LBSNAA has already undergone a sea change over the years.
