Amar Singh Chamkila's Driver Recounts The Day He Was Killed: 'As Soon As We’d Arrived, The Firing Started'

Chamkila and his wife Amarjot were killed in 1988 in Mehsampur. Chamkila's driver Ranjeet Singh, who was present with the singer during the assassination, recalled the moments preceding the tragedy.

Amar Singh Chamkila and his wife Amarjot were killed on March 8, 1988 in Mehsampur, Punjab. ( Image Source :Instagram/@jaimanchamkila )

New Delhi: Late Punjabi singer Amar Singh Chamkila’s life has again been in the spotlight after the release of Imtiaz Ali-directed biopic on the singer. Starring Diljit Dosanjh as Chamkila and Parineeti Chopra as Amarjot, the biopic garnered positive reviews. Chamkila and his wife Amarjot were killed on March 8, 1988 in Mehsampur, Punjab, a crime that remains unsolved to this day. 

Over the years, many people associated with Chamkila have spoken about the singer and his murder. Baltje Sran’s YouTube channel has many archive videos and interviews with people from Chamkila’s life.

Chamkila's driver recalls the day he was killed
In one such old interview of 2017, Chamkila’s driver, Ranjeet Singh, who was present with the singer during the assassination, recalled the moments preceding the tragedy. Chamkila’s secretary Manku, and his dholak player Lal Chand were also present with them. 

According to Singh, they had shared a meal together before the performance, with Manku engaging with the audience at the venue.  

He said in Punjabi, “We had a meal together at a nearby house, while Manku walked over to the venue to interact with the crowd. After a few minutes, we heard him tell the audience that Chamkila would be arriving in four-five minutes, which is when we all got into the car and drove over. But as soon as we’d arrived, the firing started.” 

He shared that Lal Chand sought refuge in nearby fields amidst the crossfire. 

Singh further revealed that one of the attackers prevented him from fleeing by demanding the keys to the car, which he surrendered without resistance.  

“Amarjot would sit in the middle of the back seat, and Chamkila would sit by her side. That dholak players would get off first, but the firing began immediately after everybody exited the car. They didn’t threaten me, but they asked for the keys to the car, which I handed over. They were three men. It was chaos after they started firing. People left their shoes behind as they ran for cover.” 

Ranjeet Singh recounted that the police arrived after some time and assisted him in restarting the car. He then drove to Phillaur, where he remained detained at the police station until 2 pm the following day. He also mentioned being present during the post-mortem examination and being the one to identify Chamkila and Amarjot’s body. 

Singh said it took him two weeks to resume work due to the impact of the tragedy. "I couldn’t sleep for 15 days, all I could hear was the bang-bang of the guns," he said. 

Amar Singh Chamkila was released on Netflix on April 12.