with the acting rank of major-general, and promoted to substantive major-general on 2 April 1974. The day before retirement, he was stripped of his rank without court-martial and denied his pension. Two charge sheets in an anti-corruption court were brought against him in Lucknow by India's Central Bureau of Investigation. Singh sought redress in civil courts, and was acquitted of all charges on February 13, 1984. Operation Blue Star After his dismissal, Singh joined the Sikh leader of Damdami Taksal, Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, where he served as Bhindranwale's military adviser. Singh had said that he had joined Bhindranwale due to the alleged humiliation he had received, which included being stripped of his pension despite all he had done for the country. Counter Intelligence reports of the R&AW had reported that three prominent heads of the Khalsa Army were Major General Shabeg Singh, Balbier Singh and Amrik Singh. In December 1983, the Sikh political party Akali Dal's President Harcharan Singh Longowal had invited Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale to take up residence in Golden Temple Complex. Singh and his military expertise is credited with the creation of effective defenses of the Temple Complex that made the possibility of a commando operation on foot impossible. He organised the Sikh forces present at the Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar in June 1984. Indian government forces launched Operation Blue Star in the same month. At the initial stages of the operation, Singh was killed in firing between Akal Takht and Darshani Ḍeorhi. His body was later found and identified when the operation was over. Singh was cremated according to Sikh rites and with full military honors. References Bangladesh Liberation War Punjabi people People from Punjab, India Indian generals 1925 births 1984 deaths